Several “pirates” occupied a coal excavator in the Hambach open-cast mine in Germany early this morning (26 September), bringing part of the mine’s assembly lines to a standstill. The activists carried various pirate accessories and hoisted banners reading “Board the coal excavator, capsize capitalism” and “Shut Down Capitalism. Save the planet. Install Anarchism”.

The action is directed against the impending clearing of part of the Hambach Forest to build a marina on the edge of the Hambach open-cast mine. Located between Aachen and Cologne, the Hambach coal mine is the largest in Europe. Run by the mega-corporation RWE, the toxic pit supplies the surrounding weapons factories with electricity, and pumps untold quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

“The issue of water shows that RWE’s profit interests still take precedence over the needs of people and nature”, said Jessie, one of the occupiers. “The climate crisis, which is partly caused by the lignite industry, is contributing to drought. At the same time, vital water is becoming scarce due to RWE’s ridiculous projects, such as flooding the Hambach open-cast mine and building a marina there. Chemical reactions will cause the water in the mine to become so acidic that even those responsible at RWE would rather not walk the plank”.

Through this action, the Pirates are also showing solidarity with the forest occupation “Sündi bleibt”. The Sündenwald secures the fresh water supply for the last remaining part of the Hambach Forest, which has been repeatedly occupied for over 10 years. The Sündenwald was occupied with tree houses in the fall of last year, and eviction and clearing are expected in the coming weeks. RWE then plans to mine gravel beneath the forest and create an island out of it.

Parallel to the excavator occupation, a trial against activists who had already occupied a coal excavator in 2023 was scheduled at the Cologne Regional Court, but was postponed at short notice.

Eviction of the occupation is expected at any time.