Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger
Encyclopedia
The Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger or DGzRS (literally translated: "German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked", but more commonly referred to in English as the German Lifeboat Institution or GLI) is responsible for Search and Rescue
in German
territorial waters in the North Sea
and the Baltic Sea
, including the Exclusive Economic Zone
.
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 61 lifeboats
at 54 stations, 185 employed crew members and 800 volunteers. The Society has about 2500 engagements every year. Up to 2005, it rescued approximately 72,000 persons. In 2004 it saved 368 lives, rescued 837 persons from critical situations and carried out 343 medical transports.
Like the comparable British
and Dutch
organizations, 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".
Search and rescue
Search and rescue 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, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
in German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
territorial waters in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, including the Exclusive Economic Zone
Exclusive Economic Zone
Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...
.
The headquarters and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of the Society are located in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
. It was founded in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
on 29 May 1865. It owns 61 lifeboats
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
at 54 stations, 185 employed crew members and 800 volunteers. The Society has about 2500 engagements every year. Up to 2005, it rescued approximately 72,000 persons. In 2004 it saved 368 lives, rescued 837 persons from critical situations and carried out 343 medical transports.
Like the comparable British
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
and Dutch
Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij
The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution is the voluntary organization in the Netherlands tasked with saving lives at sea. For that purpose, it maintains 39 lifeboat stations along the Dutch coast of the North Sea and Wadden Sea and on the IJsselmeer...
organizations, 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
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels by taking it as the model for his "Independent Society for Saving Spacewrecked".
Fleet
| Name | Station | Special |
| 46-m-Class | ||
| Hermann Marwede | Helgoland | |
| 44-m-Class | ||
| Wilhelm Kaisen | Sassnitz | |
| 36-m-Class | ||
| SK 32 | under construction | |
| 27.5-m-Class | ||
| Berlin | Laboe | |
| Hermann Helms | Cuxhaven | |
| Alfried Krupp | Borkum | |
| Vormann Steffens | Hooksiel | |
| Arkona | Warnemünde | |
| Bremen | Großenbrode | |
| 23.3-m-Class | ||
| Minden | List (Sylt) | |
| Vormann Leiss | Amrum | |
| Nis Randers | Maasholm | |
| Vormann Jantzen | Reserve (Baltic Sea) | |
| Hannes Glogner | Reserve (North Sea) | |
| 23.1-m-Class | ||
| Hermann Rudolf Meyer | Bremerhaven | |
| Hans Hackmack | Grömitz | |
| Theo Fischer | Draßer Ort | |
| Bernhard Gruben | Norderney | |
| 20-m-Class | ||
| Eiswette | Nordstrand | |
| Eugen | Greifswalder Oie | |
| SK 33 | Büsum | Christening outstanding |
See also
- German Federal Coast GuardGerman Federal Coast GuardThe German Federal Coast Guard is a civilian law enforcement organisation whose primary missions are border protection, maritime environmental protection, shipping safety, fishery protection and customs enforcement...
- Royal National Lifeboat InstitutionRoyal National Lifeboat InstitutionThe Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
- Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding MaatschappijKoninklijke Nederlandse Redding MaatschappijThe Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution is the voluntary organization in the Netherlands tasked with saving lives at sea. For that purpose, it maintains 39 lifeboat stations along the Dutch coast of the North Sea and Wadden Sea and on the IJsselmeer...
- Société Nationale de Sauvetage en MerSociété Nationale de Sauvetage en MerThe Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer is a French voluntary organisation founded in 1967 by merging the Société Centrale de Sauvetage des Naufragés and the Hospitaliers Sauveteurs Bretons...
- Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad MarítimaSociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad MarítimaThe Spanish Maritime Safety Agency, in spanish: Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Marítima also known as SASEMAR or Salvamento Marítimo is a sea search and rescue organisation, that operates in Spain.Is the body in charge of maritime traffic control, safety and rescue operations, as well as...
- Redningsselskapet