Diving Contractor Sues Sponsor for €1.35 Million Over Baltic Whale Rescue

Lawsuit filed in Schwerin

Diving contractor Fred Babbel has filed a lawsuit at the Schwerin Regional Court seeking approximately 1.35 million euros from entrepreneur Karin Walter-Mommert. The claim, submitted in early September, concerns unpaid costs from the private salvage and relocation of a stranded humpback whale named Timmy in spring 2026. Babbel, based in Zickhusen near Wismar, acted as the general contractor responsible for diving operations, technical logistics, concept planning, and securing tugs and barges. He advanced payments to subcontractor firms that remain unpaid months after the operation concluded. Babbel also paid a court cost advance of approximately 23,000 euros to initiate the legal action.

A spokesperson for the Schwerin Regional Court stated that written preliminary proceedings are underway. Walter-Mommert will receive the statement of claim and have the opportunity to submit a formal response.

The plaintiff side can then respond again, and in case of doubt, a date for an oral hearing would be scheduled if the parties cannot reach an amicable solution. That is of course always possible.

Dispute over execution and costs

Walter-Mommert has stated that her refusal to pay the final invoice is not about the financial amount itself, but about obtaining accountability regarding the conduct of the salvage. She raised objections that key specifications of the salvage and rescue concept were not implemented during the transport. According to a lawyer letter published online, Walter-Mommert has demanded additional documentation from Babbel regarding the release of the animal on board the transport vessel, and she previously rejected a proposed settlement.

Babbel stated that Walter-Mommert made an initial payment of 400,000 euros while the operation was underway, but noted that this sum was immediately disbursed to third-party shipping and barge contractors.

They went straight on to the ships and barges.

Friction between private sponsors

The legal claim directly targets Walter-Mommert because she formally confirmed the quote from Babbel's diving firm. However, she was not the sole financial backer of the mission. Media-Markt co-founder Walter Gunz also joined the initiative in the spring as a private sponsor. Through a lawyer, Walter-Mommert and Gunz had initially informed the Environment Ministry of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania that they would cover all expenses related to the rescue.

Tensions have since emerged between the two patrons over the final costs. Gunz voluntarily contributed 300,000 euros to the rescue fund. Through his lawyer, Gunz stated that he neither knew about nor approved the blanket cost commitment submitted to the ministry, and he has rejected additional payment demands forwarded by Walter-Mommert.

The failed transport operation

The humpback whale spent weeks stranded in shallow waters off the island of Poel in the Baltic Sea before the private initiative intervened in late April. Marine specialists had assessed the animal as severely ill and rated its survival chances as minimal. The salvage team loaded the animal onto a barge and transported it north toward the North Sea.

On 2 May 2026, the crew released the whale into the Skagerrak roughly 70 kilometres off Skagen, Denmark. Barely two weeks later, the dead body of the whale was discovered floating off the Danish island of Anholt, concluding the private salvage attempt.