End of the rescue operation: Humpback whale "Timmy" released in the North Sea

Published on 02/05/2026 - 19:01 GMT+2

After being rescued from a Baltic Sea bay disconnected the land of Poel and transported for respective days, the rescued humpback whale has been released into the North Sea. At astir 9.00 a.m., the carnal was nary longer successful the barge, Jens Schwarck from the backstage rescue inaugural told the quality bureau dpa.

According to archetypal accusation from Bild, the skipper of the tugboat is said to person ordered the merchandise of the whale. However, the carnal was seemingly not released into the unfastened oversea astatine the determination primitively intended by the rescue initiative, but astir 70 kilometres northbound of Skagen successful Denmark.

It is unclear whether the whale has a transmitter to way its fate

According to Schwarck, it was initially unclear whether the whale had been fitted with a transmitter. There was besides nary accusation connected its information oregon however precisely the carnal near the ship.

The transport of the whale had travel to a standstill connected Friday. With upwind forces of up to 6, waves of up to 1.5 metres built up successful the modulation betwixt the North and Baltic Seas, excessively precocious for the barge containing the whale. As a result, the tug initially turned distant and headed south.

In the evening, things started to move: astatine astir 19:20, the humpback whale had purposefully approached the exit of the barge.