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 .
4-724: 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
8-603: 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 lifesavers for
12-473: The coast and inland waters. The DGzRS concentrates on maritime emergencies that usually involve shipwrecking or other maritime incidents. 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
16-516: 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. The 20-m class uses a rigid-hulled inflatable boat instead. MRCC Bremen Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
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