Frigate dispute: Damen shipyard attacks Boris Pistorius

The dispute goes back to an order from the Bundeswehr in 2020 under Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU). At that time, four frigates were ordered from Damen, Pistorius expanded the order to include two more frigates. At the end of 2025, the project began to falter and the arms company Rheinmetall offered itself as a savior.

A short time later, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) canceled the project. In an interview with SPIEGEL, he spoke of a “difficult but ultimately necessary decision.”

Minister Pistorius had always been emphatic publicly when it came to the Damen shipyard's claims for damages. When their lawyer Gauweiler first contacted the ministry, Pistorius said it was "completely legitimate" for the Damen shipyard to defend itself after the project was canceled. Despite the process now “starting with much fanfare,” the shipyard knew very well that the sole basis for the demolition was the “poor performance of the contractor.” Instead, he will try to get the 2.3 billion euros invested back from the shipyard.

Gauweiler now counters this representation. In a letter to the Bundestag's budget committee, he argues that the federal government and the shipyard "identified all the challenges of the F126 project together and cooperated amicably for years until the politically motivated, legally completely unfounded breach of contract." The federal government ordered two more frigates via option in 2024, despite “knowing of the project delays that have already occurred”. In addition, the federal government itself contributed to the fact that “the original schedule could not be kept.”

In another letter to the Defense Minister, Gauweiler directly attacks Pistorius. This letter is also available to SPIEGEL. The “suspicion of the political leaders acting in violation of their official duties” has “increased significantly,” it says. The minister's demands for damages from the shipyard were made for "political diversion purposes" - despite the illegal breach of contract ordered by political constraints.

Despite Pistorius' statements, the legal dispute with the Dutch shipyard is seen as a real risk in the ministry behind the scenes. According to SPIEGEL information, Pistorius' house hired a powerful law firm in July. Accordingly, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader was given the task of defending the ministry. The internationally active law firm, for which around 3,000 top lawyers work, is considered one of the leading law firms in the world, according to insiders, and the mandate is likely to quickly cost the defense department at least six-figure sums.