7 
PREFACE 
The BSH - founded as the “Deutsche 
Seewarte” (German Maritime 
Observatory), from 1945 “Deutsches 
Hydrographisches Institut” (German 
Hydrographic Institute) - has 
published its annual reports every 
summer since 1875; in 1988 for the 
first time, and this year for the last 
time, under my presidency. The 
continuity reflected in these reports, 
which cover the tasks, topics, and 
developments that have kept us 
busy in the past twelve months, also 
characterises our work: our high work 
ethic and professionality, and the high 
motivation of our employees. 
But the annual reports also tell the 
story that much more has changed 
in all those years than just the name 
given to our agency when the German 
Hydrographic Institute was merged 
with the Federal Board of Tonnage 
Measurement. We faced one of 
our greatest challenges after the 
reunification of Germany, when our 
area of responsibility was extended 
to include the sea areas of the former 
German Democratic Republic. We 
succeeded at the time in achieving 
a rapid yet sensitive amalgamation 
of our nautical and hydrographic 
tasks and of the Baltic Sea prediction 
services, which today are based 
entirely at Rostock, and set the right 
course for marine research in the 
Baltic Sea by preserving the Leibniz 
Institute for Baltic Sea Research 
Warnemünde. This has led to the 
assignment of additional tasks to 
the BSH; recently, for example, the 
EU market surveillance for marine 
equipment. 
Over time, the BSH has evolved from 
a scientific and technical institution to 
Germany’s central maritime authority 
whose wide range of multidisciplinary 
tasks includes the protection of the 
marine environment and furthering 
of sustainable use of the oceans. 
In times of a rapidly-expanding 
information society, meeting the 
growing demand for marine and 
geospatial data is an important part of 
our tasks. 
Also in this country with its 
predominantly continental interests, 
people are becoming more and 
more aware of the importance of the 
oceans. Not only maritime transport 
has experienced an upswing that 
would have been beyond imagination 
just a few years ago. Other uses, 
for example offshore wind farms, 
are also booming. In the course of 
this year, the first six wind turbines 
are scheduled to be placed into 
operation, with an electricity output 
that is expected to be twice as 
high as that of comparable onshore 
turbines. 
How fast things may change can be 
seen in the global climate system, in 
which the oceans are playing a vital 
role. The beginnings of climate