Whale sighted again in Wismar harbour, authorities hope for safe return to open sea

New sighting in Wismar

On Monday, 27 July 2026, a whale roughly eight metres long was spotted in the Überseehafen of Wismar. The harbour office alerted the water police at about 9 a.m., and the animal has been under observation ever since. The Schwerin environment ministry described it as swimming actively, diving and surfacing regularly. The species remains unconfirmed, though water police suspect it could be a humpback. A Wismar city spokesperson told NDR that the whale’s skin was in poor condition, possibly because of the low salinity of Baltic Sea water.

The animal was reported to the Wismar water police inspection around 9 a.m. by the Wismar harbour office and has been monitored since then.

The animal appears vital, and no immediate intervention beyond monitoring is planned unless its state changes.

Recent whale activity in the Baltic

1. Mar 3, 2026Humpback 'Timmy' enters Wismar harbour, later strands and is rescued
2. May 10, 2026Timmy released in North Sea; dead whale found off Anholt days later
3. Jul 15, 2026Large whale seen off Heiligenhafen, humpback confirmed at mouth of Kiel Fjord
4. Jul 24, 2026Humpback confirmed in Flensburg Fjord, likely same animal from Scotland, Denmark and Kiel Fjord
5. Jul 27, 2026Unknown whale, approx. 8 metres, sighted in Wismar harbour

The sighting comes just days after a series of humpback whale observations along Germany’s Baltic coast. In mid-July, a large whale was seen off Heiligenhafen in Schleswig-Holstein, and the mouth of Kiel Fjord hosted a humpback whose journey had already taken it through Scottish and Danish waters. Last Friday, 24 July, the Schleswig-Holstein environment ministry confirmed a humpback in the Flensburg Fjord, believed to be the same individual. Whether the Wismar whale is that same animal remains unclear; a spokeswoman for the German Oceanographic Museum said on Monday that it was too early to tell and that the institution is monitoring the situation.

Echoes of the "Timmy" episode

The incident inevitably recalls the dramatic fate of "Timmy", a young humpback whale that entered Wismar harbour on 3 March 2026. Timmy subsequently stranded multiple times, at Timmendorfer Strand and near Poel Island, and his plight captivated an international audience. A private rescue initiative hauled the whale onto a barge in late April and released it into the North Sea in early May. A dead humpback fitted with a tracking device, identified as Timmy, was discovered off the Danish island of Anholt shortly afterwards, in mid-May 2026.

Official response and precautions

The water police are on scene, and the environment ministry stressed that avoiding a stranding is the priority.

The goal of all measures is to enable the animal a disturbance-free return to deeper waters and to prevent a stranding or other endangerment of the animal.

Boaters and water sports enthusiasts have been asked to keep their distance. For now, the authorities remain watchful, hoping the whale finds its way back to open sea on its own.