The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (german: Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie, BSH) is a German federal authority based in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

and

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...

. With some 800 employees, the agency's tasks include

maritime safety Maritime safety as part of and overlapping with water safety is concerned with the protection of life (search and rescue) and property through regulation, management and technology development of all forms of waterborne transportation. The execut ...

, hydrographic survey, maritime pollution monitoring, and approvals of offshore installations.

History

The agency can be traced back to ''Norddeutsche Seewarte'' (North German Naval Observatory), founded in 1867 by

Wilhelm von Freeden Wilhelm Ihno Adolf von Freeden (12 May 1822 Norden, Lower Saxony – 11 January 1894 Bonn) was a German mathematician and expert on navigation. He was the founder of the North German Naval Observatory. Freeden Bank bears his name. Biography He ...

, which issued individual sailing directions based on nautical and meteorological observations as early as 1868. After World War II, the Deutsches Hydrographisches Institut (DHI) erman Hydrographical Institutewas founded in 1945 and took over these tasks. While it was first active throughout all four zones of

Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...

, operations in the Soviet zone ceased when the DHI became part of the Western Allies' unified zone which was to become the state of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. After the

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

of 1990, the DHI was merged with ''Bundesamt für Schiffsvermessung (BAS)'' ederal_Agency_for_Tonnage_Measurement.html" ;"title="Tonnage.html" ;"title="ederal Agency for Tonnage">ederal Agency for Tonnage Measurement">Tonnage.html" ;"title="ederal Agency for Tonnage">ederal Agency for Tonnage Measurementto form the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency. At the same time, the '' Seehydrographischer Dienst'' [Maritime Hydrographical Service] of East Germany which was part of the Volksmarine, People's Navy was taken over.

Tasks

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency provides maritime services for shipping, economy and marine environment. It is a federal agency within the portfolio of the

Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (german: Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr, ), abbreviated BMDV, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is located in Berlin, while the majority ...

. The various tasks include: *Facilitation of the German merchant marine, *Tonnage measurement and matter related to

flags of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag stat ...

, *Issue of certificates for sailors, *Testing and approval of navigational and radio equipment, *Maritime hazard control, *Issue of official

nautical chart A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land ( topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the co ...

s, handbooks and other nautical publications such as

notice to mariners A notice to mariners (NTM or NOTMAR,) advises mariners of important matters affecting navigational safety, including new hydrographic information, changes in channels and aids to navigation, and other important data. Over 60 countries which pr ...

for professional and recreational shipping, *

Bathymetry Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors ('' seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water ...

of North Sea and Baltic Sea, *Calculation and forecasts of

tide table Tide tables, sometimes called tide charts, are used for tidal prediction and show the daily times and levels of high and low tides, usually for a particular location. Tide heights at intermediate times (between high and low water) can be approxi ...

water level Water level, also known as gauge height or stage, is the elevation of the free surface of a sea, stream, lake or reservoir relative to a specified vertical datum.ISO 772: 1996. Hydrometric determinations – Vocabulary and symbols. See also * ...

s and

storm tide A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

s, *Monitoring of the marine environment which includes the operation of several fixed automated stations, *Investigation of environmental pollution at sea, *Maritime

spatial planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...

for the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Germany, *Approval of commercial offshore activities like wind farming, pipelines or

submarine communications cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried tel ...

s in the German EEZ of North Sea and Baltic. The agency is moreover represented in a number of national and international panels. The head office of

Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation The Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation (german: Bundesstelle für Seeunfalluntersuchung, BSU) is the German agency for investigating maritime accidents and incidents. It is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building ...

is in the BSH facility.

Vessels

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency maintains a fleet of five survey vessels as of 2013. ''Atair'' is expected to be replaced in 2020 by a new vessel, also named ''Atair''. *''Atair'', based in Hamburg *''Deneb'', based in Rostock *''Wega'', based in Hamburg *''Capella'', based in Hamburg *''Komet'', based in Hamburg

Messages in bottles

According to own accounts, the BSH's library presumably hosts the world's largest collection of messages in a bottle amounting to 660 items.

References

External links

*
BSH ENC Charts Viewer
{{Authority control Maritime transport authorities German federal agencies Water transport in Germany 1868 establishments in Germany Organisations based in Hamburg Rostock National hydrographic offices