German investigators earlier this year ordered the search of a ship in connection with explosions that damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and western Europe.
The office of the attorney-general said on Wednesday it had the vessel searched in January as it suspected the ship “could have been used to transport explosive devices” used in underwater bombings that damaged two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September.
The statement, which came after the New York Times and German media outlets Die Zeit and ARD reported that the suspected attackers may have had links to Ukraine, said that the identity of the perpetrators and their motives were being investigated.