BSH 
kompakt 
27 
Activities in 2000 
Services to shipping, protection of the marine environ 
ment, and information about the oceans were promi 
nent fields of activity of the BSH (Bundesamt fur See- 
schifffahrt und Hydrographie, Federal Maritime and 
Hydrographic Agency) in 2000. Despite decreasing 
financial resources, it has been the BSH's goal, as the 
Federal Government's provider of maritime services, 
to ensure excellent product quality and customer ser 
vice and, where possible, to Improve the quality of Its 
products and services. 
German maritime shipping 
The BSH provided tonnage measurements of 225 
ships totalling 1.97 million gt (gross tonnage) on the 
basis of International regulations. Presently 700 mer 
chant ships with a tonnage of 6.7 million gt are operat 
ed under the German flag. Of these, 420 ships with a 
total tonnage of 6.3 million gt are listed in the Interna 
tional Shipping Registry maintained by the BSH. Per 
mits for temporary operation under foreign flags were 
granted to 520 ships (4.2 million gt). The total number 
of ships operated under such permits is 857, with a 
total tonnage of 8.4 million gt. The BSH issued Flag 
Certificates to 1,300 small craft, and modified or ex 
tended 500 Flag Certificates. 
Promotion of training 
In order to maintain the high professional level of 
German and European mariners, financial aid has 
been granted for the navigational training of future 
mariners on board merchant ships under the German 
flag since 1997. In 2000, the BSH awarded grants 
totalling DM 5 million for the funding of 87 navigational 
training places. 
Navigational and radiocommunications 
equipment 
The BSH is the notified body for navigational and radio- 
communications equipment designated by Germany in 
compliance with the Marine Equipment Directive. It is the 
national certification authority for other navigational and 
radiocommunications equipment. The testing facilities 
have been accredited according to the DIN EN I SO/I EC 
standard 17025 and certified according to ISO 9001. 
On the basis of the new EU regulations, the BSH grant 
ed 309 type approvals for shlpborne navigation 
equipment and 12 type approvals for radiocommuni 
cations equipment. Four newly developed shipboard 
systems for the official Electronic Chart Display and 
Information System (ECDIS) have been type-tested 
and approved. The BSH Is the leading Institution 
worldwide for such system tests. It carried out opera 
tional on-board surveys of 900 nautical Installations 
and 700 maritime radiocommunications installations. 
These activities are carried out In compliance with the 
requirements of the International Convention for the 
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). The requirements of the 
SOLAS Convention, Chapter V, regarding navigational 
and radiocommunications safety have been complete 
ly revised and updated, with substantial support from 
the BSH for the German position. The amendments, 
adopted by the International Maritime Organization 
(IMO) in November 2000, will enter Into force world 
wide from 2002. They include, inter alia, the manda 
tory carriage of automatic identification systems and 
voyage data recorders. The BSH Is preparing for the 
future approval of these novel systems. 
Hydrographic surveys and wreck 
search 
BSH survey vessels covered 36,000 km of sounding 
lines (North Sea 21,000 km, Baltic Sea 15,000 km),