# Barbel Murders north sea



## bourke646 (Jan 9, 2007)

Hi, I am looking for info on the Barbel (I think IMO#8611207) where the entire crew were murdered and one man, suspect, remained. Nothing seems to have been proven in the Danish or German courts.

Does anyone know of an accident report or investigation?

A synopsis is available at http://www.thrillerman.com/uk/intro%20økseskibet.htm

It is to do with a novel and it reads:
Quote
"My novel, The Axe Ship, is inspired by a real life drama that caused a sensation in Denmark and Germany and made headlines all over the world.

On August 18, 1993, a German coaster, the m/s Bärbel was found drifting in the North Sea with no one aboard. Only member of the crew, the Russian sailor Andrej Lapin, was found in a life raft with 60,000 D-marks in his possession.

The police found traces of violence and arson on board the ship, and the Russian sailor was arrested and charged with the murder of the captain and the crew - five men all told. According to Lapin, two members of the crew had attacked the captain and two other crew members with axes, had managed to kill all three of them, and Lapin had had to kill the two murderers in self-defence, using their own axes. Realizing that no one would believe his story, he had dumped the bodies into the sea, set fire to the ship and jumped into a life raft. The 60,000 D-marks he claimed to be his own profits from a previous sale of Russian icons.

Since both the ship and the captain were German, the Russian sailor was handed over to the German court system for prosecution, but neither the Danish police nor the German courts were able to disprove the Russian sailor's story, despite intense efforts to establish his guilt as a cold blooded killer. On February 3, 1995, Andrej Lapin left the Landgericht in Osnabrück a free man, and to this day, the Russian sailor is the only one who knows what really happened on the infamous axe ship on those fatal days in 1993."
Unquote

Any info would be great.


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## davidships (Nov 3, 2007)

Many photos under current name of STADUM and others.
One here as BÄRBEL - http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=18077


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## Steve Gobbi (May 15, 2010)

*'Barbel'*

Hi,

I was the Thames sea pilot from Gravesend to the North East Spit pilot station when the 'Barbel' left London. I was the last one to see the Master and the Chief Mate alive and I attended the trial of the Russian AB in Germany.

Best regards
Steve


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