German Sea Rescue Society

The German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (German: Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger - DGzRS, German pronunciation: [deːɡeːt͡sɛtʔɛʁˈʔɛs] ^ⓘ; lit. German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked Persons) is a membership organisation in Germany. It is responsible for Search and Rescue in German territorial waters in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, including the Exclusive Economic Zone.

Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger

Racing stripe
DGzRS logo
Formation	29 May 1865
Legal status	Charity
Purpose	Saving lives at sea
Headquarters	Bremen
Region served	North Sea Baltic Sea
Staff	185
Volunteers	800
Website	dgzrs.de

The headquarters and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of the Society are located in Bremen. It was founded in Kiel on 29 May 1865. It owns 60 lifeboats at 55 stations which are operated by 185 employed crew members and 800 volunteers. The society has about 2000 engagements every year. Up to 2019, it rescued approximately 85,000 persons. In 2019 it saved 81 lives, rescued 270 persons from critical situations and carried out 373 medical transports. The DGzRS is entirely financed by membership fees, private donations and legacies.

Writer and honorary member Nikolai von Michalewsky has immortalized the DGzRS in his series of science fiction novels by taking it as the model for his "Independent Society for Saving Spacewrecked".

A different organisation is the German Life Saving Association which primarily wants to prevent swimmers from drowning. It gives swimming lessons and provides lifesavers for the coast and inland waters. The DGzRS concentrates on maritime emergencies that usually involve shipwrecking or other maritime incidents.

Fleet

The DGzRS operates 59 vessels on 55 stations in the North Sea and Baltic, 20 of which are seagoing cruisers (German: Seenotrettungskreuzer) between 20 m and 46 m of length, and 39 vessels are classified as inshore lifeboats (German: Seenotrettungsboote). A feature of the cruisers is that all but the 20-m class carry a fully equipped small lifeboat on deck which can quickly be released through a gate in the aft for conducting operations in shallow waters. This principle was developed by DGzRS in the 1950s.^[1] The 20-m class uses a rigid-hulled inflatable boat instead.^[2]

Lifeboats

Name	Station	Remarks
46-m class
Length 46,0m – Beam 10,66m – Draught 2,80m – Displacement 404t – 3 Engines Σ 9.250hp (6.803kW) – Speed. 25knots
Hermann Marwede	Heligoland	biggest ship of the DGzRS, biggest SAR- ship worldwide
36.5-m class
Length 36,5m – Beam 7,8 – Draught 2,70m – Displacement 236 t – 3 Engines Σ 6.508hp (4.785kW) – Speed. 25 knots
Harro Koebke	Sassnitz
28-m class
Length 27,9 – Beam 6,2m – Draught 1,95m – Displacement 120t – 2 Engines Σ 3.916hp (2.880kW) – Speed. 24 knots
Ernst Meier-Hedde	Amrum
Berlin	Laboe
Anneliese Kramer	Cuxhaven
Hamburg	Borkum
Felix Sand	Grömitz
Nis Randers	Darßer Ort	sold and re-christend Sea Eye 5 in 2024
27.5-m class
Length 27,5m – Beam 6,5m – Draught 2,1m – Displacement 103t – 3 Engines Σ 3.282hp (2.420kW) – Speed. 23 knots
Arkona	Warnemünde
Bremen	Großenbrode
23.1-m class
Length 23,1m – Beam 6,0m – Draught 1,6m – Displacement 80t – 2 Engines Σ 2.700hp (1.986kW) – Speed 25 knots
Hermann Rudolf Meyer	Bremerhaven
Bernhard Gruben	Hooksiel
Hans Hackmack	Reliefboat
Theo Fischer	Reliefboat
20-m class
Length 19,91 – Beam 5,0m – Draught 1,3m – Displacement 40t – 1 Engine 1.630hp (1.232kW) – Speed 25 knots
Eiswette	Nordstrand
Eugen	Norderney
Theodor Storm	Büsum
Pidder Lüng	List/Sylt
Fritz Knack	Maasholm
Berthold Beitz	Greifswalder Oie

Voluntary Lifeboats

Name	Station	Remarks
10,1m class
Paul Neisse	Eiderdamm
Kurt Hoffmann	Glowe
Horst Heiner Kneten	Hörnum
Nausikaa	Vitte-Hiddensee
Konrad Otto	Kühlungsborn
Henrich Wuppesahl	Neustadt in Holstein
Secretarius	Langeoog
Fritz Thieme	Wangerooge
Nimanoa	Damp
Wolfgang Wiese	Timmendorf
Ursula Dettmann	Gelting
Mervi	Neustadt in Holstein	SAR-School
Gerhard Elsner	Schilksee
Peter Habig	Wilhelmshaven
Wolfgang Paul Lorenz	Puttgarden
Romy Frank	Horumersiel
Erich Koschubs	Travemünde
Otto Diersch	Norddeich
9,5m class
Wilma Sikorski	Norddeich
Gillis Gillbranson	Brunsbüttel
Werner Kuntze	Langballigau
Heinz Orth	Freest
Hertha Jeep	Stralsund
Hans Ingwersen	Travemünde
Emil Zimmermann	Fedderwardersiel
Neuharlingersiel	Neuharlingersiel
Heiligenhafen	Heiligenhafen
Casper Otten	Lauterbach
Woltera	Lippe
Walter Rose	Neustadt in Holstein	SAR-School
Eckernförde	Eckernförde
Elli Hoffmann-Röser	Baltrum

Gallery

• 
  SK John T. Essberger, one of the large 44m-class cruisers of the DGzRS
• 
  SK Hermann Marwede, the only one of the large 46m-class cruisers of the DGzRS
• 
  The Marwede at sea
• 
  SK Harro Koebke the large 36,5m-class for the Baltic Sea in Sassnitz
• 
  SK Anneliese Kramer the new 28m-class for Cuxhaven
• 
  SK Theodor Storm a 20m-class cruiser
• 
  SK Berlin, a 27m-class cruiser of the DGzRS, and a SeaKing helicopter of the German Navy
• 
  SK Herman Helms, a cruiser of the 27m-class
• 
  SK Vormann Jantzen
• 
  S&R boat Eltje
• 
  SK Minden in the port of Sylt island
• 
  SK Bernhard Gruben with daughter boat during an exercise in the North Sea off Juist island

See also

• German Federal Coast Guard