[3][4] In late 2024 Nordrhein-Westfalen was patrolling in the Baltic Sea, coming from the port of Gdańsk, Poland.

In late November the frigate was encountered a Russian convoy consisting of a not named tanker and a corvette in the Baltic Sea, potentially breaking the international sanctions imposed on Russian oil.

[5] When one of the NH90 helicopters from Nordrhein-Westfalen was sent to inspect the Russian vessels more closely, the corvette responded with five red flares instead of routine radio communication.

The incident became public when German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock mentioned the act of aggression at a NATO meeting a week later.

This article about a specific military ship or boat of Germany is a stub.