Environmental activist group Greenpeace launched a protest on Thursday against the construction of a pipeline across the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen to connect a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.
Greenpeace said activists used three rubber dinghy boats to block a ship carrying pipe sections for the project in the port of Mukran on the island.
The German government has backed the swift construction of several LNG import terminals in a bid to replace Russian gas imports that were halted after the invasion of Ukraine.
Environmentalists have opposed the projects, particularly on Rügen, a popular Baltic Sea holiday destination that includes a national park and is near several other protected nature preserves.
Pictures posted by Greenpeace on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, showed the red side of the ship painted with the slogan "No New Gas!" and the ship's crew aiming a water hose at one of the inflatable boats.
The police confirmed the incident.
Activists also climbed a crane in the harbour and unfurled a banner with the inscription "Gas destroys."
A high-altitude rescue team from the fire brigade arrived to remove the protesters from the crane. The police removed about 15 activists from the site, took down their personal information and issued formal orders not to return.
The activists on the inflatable boats managed to slip back out of the harbour without being arrested, police said.
A police spokesman told dpa that the activists are under investigation for possible offences include holding an unannounced meeting, trespassing and damage to property.
Greenpeace has sharply criticized that the pipeline, which would run through several marine habitat protected areas.
The new pipeline, about 50 kilometres long, is to run from the port of Mukran on the island of Rügen, where LNG delivered by ship is to be converted back into gas, to the gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea connecting Rügen to the mainland.
