German Flag
As strong alliance of 4 partners, we bundle our competences and experiences: On course with quality, safety and security! Find out more about the individual partners of the German Flag.
BG Verkehr/Ship Safety Division (DS)
"Safe ships, clean seas, protection of seafarers" - that is the mission of the Ship Safety Division (Dienststelle Schiffssicherheit, DS). The DS performs state tasks related to ship safety, marine environmental protection and maritime labour law.
The tasks of the Ship Safety Division
The Ship Safety Division (DS) is responsible for all commercially operated seagoing vessels and traditional ships flying the German Flag—from undecked fishing boats to giant container ships, and from coastal waters to the high seas. In addition, the DS inspects merchant ships flying foreign flags in German sea ports.
Maritime shipping is versatile—this is reflected in the DS's responsibilities:
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Surveying merchant ships flying the German Flag (flag State control)
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Inspecting merchant ships flying foreign flags in German ports (port State control)
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Ensuring ship safety (stability, fire protection, manning)
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Implementing maritime conventions (safety, marine environmental protection, maritime labor law) in Germany
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Supporting a change of flag
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Monitoring working and living conditions of seafarers
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Reviewing and approving federal funding for seamen’s missions
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Issuing electronic certificates for ships flying the German Flag
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Certifying safe ship operation (ISM Code)
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Overseeing safety training courses for seafarers
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Approving ship equipment (fire protection, life-saving equipment, marine environmental protection)
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Optimizing medical care for seafarers on board (ship’s medical chest, training courses, Maritime Medical Handbook)
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Ensuring the quality of medical examinations for seafarers and sea pilots
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Conducting psychological aptitude tests for sea pilot aspirants
The latter three tasks are performed by the Maritime Medical Service of the Ship Safety Division. More information about its work is given under the heading "Maritime medicine".
The staff of the Ship Safety Division
The professions of the approximately 100 employees in the Ship Safety Division are as diverse as the tasks they perform. Whether they are navigational officers, engineers, lawyers, naval architects, physicians, or psychologists - they use their expertise and deep passion to ensure that everything runs smoothly on board. They built their careers in the maritime industry before joining the DS. The DS surveyors and inspectors have worked at sea themselves and therefore know from personal experience what matters on board.
Do you value work with maritime impact? Then these job listings are just right for you.
Our “parent organization,” BG Verkehr
The Ship Safety Division is a special unit under the umbrella of the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for Commercial Transport, Postal Logistics and Telecommunications (BG Verkehr). As the provider of statutory accident insurance, BG Verkehr is responsible for almost everything that rolls, flies, and floats. In addition to the Ship Safety Division, BG Verkehr’s Prevention, Membership, and Accident Law divisions are also active in the field of maritime shipping.
More about the Ship Safety Division
Learn more about the Ship Safety Division in the magazine “Ausguck.” Or just stop by the DS office in Hamburg.
Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH)
Maritime Service Provider of the Federal Government
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie, BSH) is an authority in the division of the Federal Ministry for Transport (BMV) with offices located in Hamburg and Rostock. With the help of around 1.000 employees and an annual budget of approx. 135 million Euros (in 2024, incl. ship financing), BSH performs a wide range of services as an important maritime service provider in Germany.
As a partner for maritime shipping, protection of the environment and uses of the sea, the BSH
- supports maritime shipping and the maritime economy,
- consolidates safety and security as well as the protection of the maritime environment,
- promotes sustainable uses of the sea,
- actively participates in the energy transition,
- is involved in departmental research on an international as well as a national level,
- ensures continuity and quality of measurements and research, and
- processes and promulgates collected data.
BSH’s functions
As an important maritime service provider in Germany, BSH's tasks include:
- Services for the shipping industry (flag documents, certificates of competency for seafarers, granting shipping subsidies)
- Implementing international environmental agreements for maritime transport (MARPOL, Liability of oil pollution, Ballast Water Convention)
- Implementing the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS Code) for maritime security
- Testing, research and development of navigational information systems
- Hydrographic surveying and search for wrecks
- Warning services (water-level forecast, tide prediction, storm surge warning service, ice service)
- Monitoring the seas (in regard to climate and environmental changes)
- Maritime geospatial data centre
- Maritime spatial planning in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and
- Approval procedures for marine windfarms (MWF) and pipelines.
BSH is widely connected and cooperates with around 170 national and international
Bundesnetzagentur
The Federal Network Agency fulfils many tasks
The "Bundesnetzagentur" (federal network agency) of electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and rail is an independent higher federal authority of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology based in Bonn.
The "Bundesnetzagentur’s" task is to provide further development of the electricity, gas, telecommunications, postal and rail infrastructure market by means of liberalization and deregulation. For the enforcement of the regulatory objectives, it has been provided with effective procedures and instruments covering i.a. legal information and examination rights as well as graded sanctioning mechanisms.
Maritime radiocommunications is provided by the Hamburg branch
At the branch in Hamburg, the "Bundesnetzagentur" is responsible for anything related to participation in maritime radio telecommunications, in particular the assignment of frequencies to operators of a ship-based radio station on board a ship.
The shipping registers of sea-going ships (SSR)
SSR are located in the district courts
German shipping registers of sea-going ships are state authorities responsible for entering sea-going ships into the register of the home port. Rather than one central shipping register, there are several registers mostly along the coast and their responsibility is connected to the home port of the individual ship.
Shipping registers of sea-going ships are public and provide information about property and legal conditions relating to the registered ships.
The largest shipping registers of sea-going ships in Germany are:
- the shipping register in Hamburg and
- the shipping register in Bremen.
Here you will find a list of all shipping registers in Germany for sea-going ships including their contact details.
