I guess blocking access to the harbour was not the reason for scuttling the ship. At that point (January 1945) Klaipeda had been under siege by Soviet forces for three months already. The port was more or less the only way in and out for the Wehrmacht. There simply were no resources to repair the ship... On January 27th the Wehrmacht had to abandon Klaipeda and according to Hitler's scorched-earth-policy everything that could be useful for the enemy had to be destroyed...

One other reason to scuttle their unusable own ship (because of lack of fuel, being trapped, etc) is to make sure that they can not be used by the enemy afterward. Think about the GRAF SPEE or the french fleet at Toulon.

Documentary, Memel on 27 January 1945 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUdns5xkj-E

Scuttling ships in harbour was used to block access to the harbour or to block the use of the wharf in wartime.
regards
Emmanuel.L.(Malta)

During WWII, as we know the differences between the regular German soldier and the SS/Gestapo, was there also a separate German navy to the Kriegsmarine ?

In this particular instance, what benefit would it be to the Kriegsmarine to scuttle one of their own vessels?

Thanks for the info! With best regards,Gena

German FRITZ SCHOOP, built 1925 by Nüschke, Stettin (271)for Kohlen-Import & Königsberger Reederei AG, Königsberg.
Damaged during an air raid at Memel on 14 January 1945, scuttled by Kriegsmarine on 24 January 1945, raised, repaired and renamed BRIVIDA, USSR, 1964 deleted from register.
Rgds, Manfred