The German Federal Coast Guard (german: Küstenwache des Bundes) is a civilian law enforcement organisation whose primary missions are border protection, maritime environmental protection, shipping safety, fishery protection and customs enforcement. The ''Küstenwache'' is an association of several federal agencies, not a single entity like the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

. The agencies that make up the ''Küstenwache'' have a common plan of action and direct their operations from two Coast Guard Centers (German: ''Küstenwachzentren''), Neustadt (Holstein) for the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

and

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

for the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

Structure and responsibilities

Units and personnel from these federal agencies make up the coast guard: * '' Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police),

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

* Waterways and Shipping Offices, Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV), Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Urban Development * ''Kontrolleinheit See'' (Maritime Customs Service), Federal Customs Administration, Federal Ministry of Finance * Federal Agency for Agriculture and Nutrition (BLE), Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food, and Agriculture

Coast guard personnel

The personnel serving with the ''Küstenwache'' include both police officers (in the case of the '' Bundespolizei'' and ''Wasserzoll'') and civilians from the Waterways and Shipping Office and other agencies. ''Küstenwache'' personnel do not have combatant status as it is not a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

unit as many other

coast guards A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

are. In contrast, the

is both a

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

and a law enforcement organisation and its commissioned officers have both police and military powers. However, police officers serving with the ''Küstenwache'' retain their usual police powers, adjusted to the maritime nature of their job.

Ships and other vessels

Bad Bramstedt (Ship 2002) - Cuxhaven 2008 by-RaBoe 01

A total of 27 ships and boats from the aforementioned institutions are in operation (''Bundespolizei'': six ships; ''Wasserzoll'': eight customs cutters, four customs cruisers; WSV: three multi-purpose ships; BLE: two fishery protection boats, three fishery research ships). The ships are all marked with the legend "Küstenwache" as well as a black-red-gold signet on the hull and the coast guard's

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...

. However, the hull colour differs from agency to agency: blue for the ''Bundespolizei'', green for the ''Zoll'' and black for the WSV and BLE. A number of helicopters and planes are in use as well. Some Ships: *BP 24 ''Bad Bramstedt'' *BP 25 ''Bayreuth'' *BP 26 ''Eschwege'' *BP 81 ''Potsdam'' *BP 82 ''Bamberg'' *BP 83 ''Bad Düben'' *MS ''Priwall'' *MS ''Kalkgrund'' *FSB ''Seeadler'' * ''Hamburg'' *SUBS ''Mellum''

Ranks

File:Dienstgradabzeichen wasserzoll.jpg, Official titles (ranks): From top to bottom; middle service to senior service.

External links

Link for the Coast guard arm of the German Federal Police, In German
{{Law enforcement in Germany Coast guards Sea rescue organizations Federal law enforcement agencies of Germany

Structure and responsibilities

Coast guard personnel

Ships and other vessels

Ranks

See also

External links