The Danish Maritime Safety Administration (DaMSA) () was a department of the Danish

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

with administration located in

Christianshavn Christianshavn () is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour, ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. DaMSA operated throughout Denmark as part of the Danish

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR) organization that runs 21 rescue stations located along the coasts of Denmark. Responsibilities of DaMSA included authorizing

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

systems and

buoy A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...

age, resolving issues concerning wrecks and their salvage in Danish waters, and running the Danish Pilotage Service (Lodsvæsenet). DaMSA was the Centre for Operational Oceanography, which collects hydrographical and oceanographic data from all national waters, and makes charts and maps for use by the

Military of Denmark The Danish Defence (; ; ; ) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its self-governing territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The military also promote Denmark's wider interests, support ...

and civilians. DaMSA was a full member of the

North West Shelf Operational Oceanographic System The North West Shelf Operational Oceanographic System (NOOS) monitors physical, sedimentological and ecological variables for the North Sea area. NOOS is operated by partners from the nine countries bordering the extended North Sea and European N ...

History

On 1 April 1973 ''Farvandsdirektoratet'' was established by merging the following organizations: Danish Lighthouse Service (Fyrvæsenet), Danish Pilotage Service (Lodsvæsenet), Danish Rescue Service (Redningsvæsenet) and the Royal Danish Nautical charts archive (Det Kongelige danske Søkortarkiv). During the late 1970s and 1980s, the name Farvandsdirektoratet was changed to Farvandsvæsenet. Farvandsdirektoratet remained a used and accepted name. In 1987 the Royal Danish Nautical charts archive was detached for merger with the

National Survey and Cadastre of Denmark National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. All of these services have a long history on their own, reaching back to 1560. On 1 April 2008 Farvandsvæsenet changed its English name from ''Royal Danish Administration of Navigation and Hydrography'' (RDANH) to ''Danish Maritime Safety Administration'' (DaMSA).

Buildings

Farvandsvaesenet occupied the buildings named Søkvæsthuset and Bakkehuset. Bakkehuset is known for housing the Danish poet Johan Ludvig Heiberg.

Mission and tasks

The mission of the Danish Maritime Safety Administration was to assure the safety of navigation at sea in Danish, Faroese and Greenlandic waters. DaMSA achieved this mission through execution of the following tasks: Exercise jurisdiction and issue nautical publications; Provide aids to navigation; Provide coastal rescue; Provide

pilotage Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...

; Conduct hydrographical surveys and provide oceanographic information. DaMSA was a member of the SeaDataNet European Directory of Marine Organizations, providing bathymetric measurements in Danish and Greenlandic waters. Five surveying ships are present working in Danish waters, all equipped with a shallow water multibeam system. Two surveying ships (one with multibeam) are stationed in Greenland with working area on the west coast.

Abolition

The Maritime Safety Administration was abolished by royal decree of 3 October 2011. Its tasks were redistributed: pilotage service and maritime buoyage were transferred to the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs, oceanography was transferred to the Ministry of Climate and Energy and hydrographic surveying was transferred to the

Ministry of Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

References

External links

Farvandsvæsenet
home page
History of Søkvæsthuset
from Christianshavn Archives {{authority control Navigation and Hydrography Hydrology organizations Oceanographic organizations Organizations established in 1973 Maritime safety organizations 1973 establishments in Denmark Organizations disestablished in 2011