Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany


The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany is a German federal authority based in Hamburg and Rostock. With some 800 employees, the agency's tasks include maritime safety, hydrographic survey, maritime pollution monitoring, and approvals of offshore installations.

History

The agency can be traced back to Norddeutsche Seewarte, founded in 1867 by Wilhelm von Freeden, which issued individual sailing directions based on nautical and meteorological observations as early as 1868. After World War II, the Deutsches Hydrographisches Institut was founded in 1945 and took over these tasks. While it was first active throughout all four zones of Allied-occupied Germany, 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. After the German reunification of 1990, the DHI was merged with Bundesamt für Schiffsvermessung to form the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency. At the same time, the Seehydrographischer Dienst of East Germany which was part of the 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, Building and Urban Development. The various tasks include:
The agency is moreover represented in a number of national and international panels.
The head office of Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation is in the BSH facility.

Vessels

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency maintains a fleet of five survey vessels.
According to own accounts, the BSH's library presumably hosts the world's largest collection of messages in a bottle amounting to 660 items.