Humpback Whale Timmy Released Into North Sea After Multi-Week Rescue Operation

A rescue team released a humpback whale nicknamed Timmy from a barge into the North Sea on May 2, 2026, according to multiple reports citing German authorities and the rescue initiative. The whale had been stranded in shallow waters off Germany’s Baltic coast since March 23, when it was first spotted on a sandbank near Luebeck.

Karin Walter-Mommert from the rescue initiative said after the release at 6:45 a.m. local time, about 70 kilometers from the coast of Skagen, Denmark, that Timmy “is now swimming on its own and freely, and at least for the time being, in the right direction.” A GPS transmitter was attached to the whale before release to track its movements, according to the German news agency dpa.

The whale was transported toward the North Sea aboard a flooded cargo ship that served as a barge, departing on April 29 near Fehmarn, Germany, just before the Danish border. Two entrepreneurs financed the barge for the transport operation. An earlier attempt to move the whale using inflatable cushions and pontoons had not succeeded.

Germany’s environment minister for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state approved an attempt to save the whale that was proposed by a private initiative. The minister’s approval came after German officials had said at the beginning of April that they believed the whale could not be saved.

The whale had repeatedly become stuck in shallow waters near the coastal city of Wismar and had freed itself after being stuck on a sandbank near Luebeck before becoming stuck again several times.

Unsuccessful efforts to coax the whale toward deeper waters were live-streamed. The whale’s health had deteriorated while it remained in the Baltic Sea, which has lower salt content than its natural Atlantic Ocean habitat, and it suffered from a skin condition.