More than five weeks after a humpback whale became trapped in shallow waters off Germany’s Baltic coast, the animal has finally been transported out of German waters aboard a barge, now heading toward the North Sea.
According to BBC, the complex rescue effort, which failed several times to guide the whale back into deeper waters, has drawn widespread attention across Germany.
On Tuesday, the whale was successfully coaxed into a specially adapted water-filled barge in an operation financed by two German entrepreneurs.
However, marine specialists have largely kept their distance from the mission. An expert panel from the International Whaling Commission described the intervention as well-intentioned but warned the animal appeared “severely compromised and unlikely to survive even if moved to deeper water”.
Despite such concerns, those involved in the operation expressed relief and joy at the outcome.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s environment minister, Till Backhaus, has become a central figure in the effort. He praised the mission, calling it an “example for Germany of what can be done”.
“If everything goes well, it will be in the North Sea in two days,” he told reporters, adding that the whale was doing very well and reportedly even sang during the night.
The rescue effort was personally funded by entrepreneurs Karin Walter-Mommert and Walter Gunz, who said they were overjoyed at the animal’s release from the shallow waters near Poel Island, where it had been stranded for 29 days.
“I can’t even say how happy I am,” said Karin Walter-Mommert, while Walter Gunz said he had never prayed so much in his life.
After leaving German waters aboard the transport ship Fortuna B, which is towing the barge, the convoy entered Danish waters.
The planned route takes it through the Baltic Sea, around northern Denmark’s Jutland coast, through the Skagerrak strait, and onward into the North Sea.
Among the rescue team, optimism remained high on Tuesday when the whale entered the barge and continued into Wednesday’s briefings.
Felix Bohnsack, technical director of the operation, commended all partners involved, including Backhaus’s environment ministry and the German life-saving association DLRG, though he cautioned they were not yet “out of the woods”.
Wildlife organisations remain deeply sceptical about the whale’s chances of survival once released.
Whale and Dolphin Conservation warned the animal may not survive long-term, noting it would need to recover damaged skin caused by prolonged exposure to low-salinity Baltic waters and regain the ability to feed independently for the mission to be considered a success.
Marine biologist Fabian Ritter offered a more hopeful view, telling German press agency DPA that the whale showed a “will to live”, but stressed the uniqueness of the situation,“We don’t know what effect this will have on the whale.”
The German Oceanographic Museum also cautioned that the weakened whale could be at risk of drowning.
The animal’s ordeal began after it became entangled in fishing netting. First spotted in early March, it was stranded on Timmendorfer Beach in Lübeck Bay on 23 March.
Since then, it has remained a national talking point in Germany.
Earlier attempts to free it involved digging channels to guide it back to deeper water, but the whale instead moved eastward to Wismar Bay and eventually settled in shallow waters off Poel Island.
The whale has become something of a symbol for the public and rescue teams alike, with nicknames such as Timmy and Hope emerging during its ordeal.
Reflecting on the breakthrough moment, rescue director Felix Bohnsack said on Wednesday that “the moment Hope swam into the barge was inconceivable; we had tears in our eyes; these are images I will never forget”.
