occupation

From Hambacher Forst
September 26, 2025

In the early morning hours of September 26, 2025, several "pirates" occupied a coal excavator in the Hambach open-cast mine and streamed the action on Instagram. Part of the mine's assembly lines is currently at a standstill. The activists hoisted banners reading "Board the coal excavator, capsize capitalism" and "Shut Down Capitalism. Save the planet. Install Anarchism," and carried various pirate accessories. The action is directed against the impending clearing of part of the Hambach Forest by the coal company RWE to build a marina on the edge of the Hambach open-cast mine. 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.

Pirate Jessie explains: "The issue of water shows that RWE's profit interests still take precedence over the needs of people and nature. 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 are causing the water in the mine to become so acidic that even those in charge 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 freshwater supply of 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; eviction and clearing are expected in the coming weeks. RWE then plans to mine gravel beneath the forest and create an island from it.

The Pirates see this as a systemic problem: "It says a lot about our economic system that it's profitable to clear forests and demolish villages to fill toxic lakes, build marinas and luxury apartments, and build islands. We need a focus on real needs, which means: affordable housing, intact ecosystems, and a phase-out of coal now! This project must not happen, which is why we are blocking the destruction here and now with our bodies."

An eviction of the occupation is expected at any time.

We are happy to be available for interviews and background discussions.

Contacts:
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Mail: kohlebagger (att) nowhere (dot) info
Telegram: @disrupt_now
mastodon: climatejustice.social/@disrupt
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/200395579@N05/
Live stream: disrupt__now www.instagram.com/disrupt__now/

Comments

anon (not verified) Thu, 10/02/2025 - 10:43

They should learn how to use that ship (machine) they took over. Imagine what they could do with that. If they really were pirates they would have saved some of the sailors from the tyranny of their captain and together started sailing that ship around doing all those glorious pirate things.

anon (not verified) Thu, 10/02/2025 - 15:27

In reply to by anon (not verified)

Oooor... you could just let it eat up the very boring cuntryside all around, in the hope that at some point it'll consume "itself", eating up the whole RWE complex nearby! Checkmate.

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