Ship Safety Division
The "Dienststelle Schiffssicherheit" (Ship Safety Divsion)
The "Dienststelle Schiffssicherheit" (Ship Safety Division) is an unit of the BG Verkehr (BG for transport and traffic), that evolves from the fusion of See-Berufsgenossenschaft and BG für Fahrzeughaltungen.
Safety at Sea
The Federal Republic of Germany has to a large degree transferred the implementation of the international conventions in the sector of maritime safety and marine environmental protection, and the ordinances passed in supplement thereof, to the Ship Safety Division of BG Verkehr (formerly See-Berufsgenossenschaft). Marine environmental protection consists of the technical measures required for preventing pollution of the oceans by oil, chemicals, ship sewage, ship waste, and for preventing air pollution by ship exhaust gases. The statutory framework is provided by the Law on the Government's Functions in the Field of High-Sea Shipping, through which BG Verkehr (formerly See-Berufsgenossenschaft) is effectively accorded the status of a central federal authority under the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of Transport. The tasks of the Ship Safety Division include the following activities for ships sailing under the German flag for the purposes of commercial sea shipping or fishing.
Issuing of ship safety certificates
- Plan approval of ship newbuildings in the areas of life-saving appliances, structural fire protection, engine room installation, ship's equipment as well as the appliances and installations related to environmental technology on these ships
- Inspection of the design, subdivision, stability and freeboard, as well as clarification of fundamental questions to do with shipping and shipbuilding technology
- Approval of equipment subject to approval in the areas of life-saving appliances, structural fire protection and environmental technology
- Initial and renewal surveys of ships
- Assessment of safety management (ISM Code)
- Examination of lifeboatmen and qualified firemen
- Monitoring of the Recognized Organization (RO’s)
