Oil film ahead of Helgoland: Federal Police determined - what is behind it?

Around 170 kilometers northwest of Helgoland was discovered an oil film that has a length of 1,500 meters and a width of 200 meters. The discovery took place on March 20, 2025 by a satellite of the European Agency for the Security of Sea Transport (EMSA). The Federal Police in Cuxhaven removed samples from the affected waters on site, and the results of the rehearsal analysis are expected in the coming week.

The oil film is classified as a light, silver -gray film and, according to the authorities, is not an acute danger. It was not described as a deep -black carpet, but was classified as "non -control", which indicates that it may no longer be visible. However, water pollution is considered to be environmentally stressful and as a criminal offense. The rehearsals were taken on the “Bad Düben” operating ship, which after the first evaluation at the Federal Office for Sea shipping and hydrography (BSH) in Hamburg were then examined by the maritime investigation service of the Federal Police in Neustadt.

Investigations into the origin of the oil film

The investigation into the oil film is already underway, and it remains to be seen where the contamination comes from. The federal police did not comment on a possible connection with a ship collision that took place on March 10, 2025 in the North Sea near the British coast. According to the British coast guard, no dirt was registered with this collision.

In addition, a strange white foam was discovered in the North Sea in front of Föhr at the end of last week in the North Sea, the origin of which is also the subject of the investigation. Experts suspect that white paraffins could be responsible for this foam that come from the cleaning of transport tanks of chemical vendors. Experts of the Wadden Sea protection station warn that these paraffins could have potentially poisonous substances and they are considered part of a creeping environmental poisoning.