A major oil spill near Berlin has alarmed Brandenburg authorities after an accident damaged a pipeline linking a large refinery to Rostock’s Baltic Sea port. Officials said the incident occurred on the PCK pipeline near Gramzow/Zehnebeck, triggering a substantial leak. Emergency crews were on the scene, and authorities cautioned that details about the cause and the full extent of the damage were not yet known.
The fire department later reported that approximately 200,000 liters (about 52,835 gallons) of crude escaped from the line at a Gramzow pumping station. At the peak, the leak reached a pressure of about 20 bar (roughly 290 psi), sending a fountain of oil several meters into the air. Cleanup efforts involved specialized equipment and were expected to continue into Thursday morning, with around 100 firefighters and roughly 25 company personnel working on site.
The incident occurs near a major refinery operated by PCK in Schwedt, close to the Polish border. PCK describes the facility as capable of processing 11.5 million metric tons of crude oil annually, making it one of Germany’s largest oil-processing sites. A PCK spokesperson has stated that deliberate external interference or sabotage could be ruled out.
By 19:45 local time (18:45 UTC), local broadcaster RB reported that the leak had largely been plugged, though some oil continued to seep. Crude oil is transported from the refinery to Rostock by pipelines at the site, with the route passing through wooded areas between Berlin and the Polish border. Gramzow lies northwest of Schwedt, at the northern edge of a sizable nature reserve, and the refinery sits adjacent to another national park. The region encompasses forests and the Oder River vicinity, forming a natural landscape that underscores the environmental stakes of this incident.
