# German Sea Rescue Society

The German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (German: Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger - DGzRS, German pronunciation: ; 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.
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 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 the coast and inland waters. The DGzRS concentrates on maritime emergencies that usually involve shipwrecking or other maritime incidents.

## Fleet

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 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.

### Lifeboats

| Name | Station | Remarks |
| 46-m class |||
| Length 46,0m – Beam 10,66m – Draught 2,80m – Displacement 404t – 3 Engines Σ 9.250hp (6.803kW) – Speed. 25knots |||
| Hermann Marwede | Heligoland | biggest ship of the DGzRS, biggest SAR- ship worldwide |
| 36.5-m class |||
| Length 36,5m – Beam 7,8 – Draught 2,70m – Displacement 236 t – 3 Engines Σ 6.508hp (4.785kW) – Speed. 25 knots |||
| Harro Koebke | Sassnitz | |
| 28-m class |||
| Length 27,9 – Beam 6,2m – Draught 1,95m – Displacement 120t – 2 Engines Σ 3.916hp (2.880kW) – Speed. 24 knots |||
| Ernst Meier-Hedde | Amrum | |
| Berlin | Laboe | |
| Anneliese Kramer | Cuxhaven | |
| Hamburg | Borkum | |
| Felix Sand | Grömitz | |
| Nis Randers | Darßer Ort | sold and re-christend Sea Eye 5 in 2024 |
| 27.5-m class |||
| Length 27,5m – Beam 6,5m – Draught 2,1m – Displacement 103t – 3 Engines Σ 3.282hp (2.420kW) – Speed. 23 knots |||
| Arkona | Warnemünde | |
| Bremen | Großenbrode | |
| 23.1-m class |||
| Length 23,1m – Beam 6,0m – Draught 1,6m – Displacement 80t – 2 Engines Σ 2.700hp (1.986kW) – Speed 25 knots |||
| Hermann Rudolf Meyer | Bremerhaven | |
| Bernhard Gruben | Hooksiel | |
| Hans Hackmack | Reliefboat | |
| Theo Fischer | Reliefboat | |
| 20-m class |||
| Length 19,91 – Beam 5,0m – Draught 1,3m – Displacement 40t – 1 Engine 1.630hp (1.232kW) – Speed 25 knots |||
| Eiswette | Nordstrand | |
| Eugen | Norderney | |
| Theodor Storm | Büsum | |
| Pidder Lüng | List/Sylt | |
| Fritz Knack | Maasholm | |
| Berthold Beitz | Greifswalder Oie | |

### Voluntary Lifeboats

| Name | Station | Remarks |
| 10,1m class |||
| Paul Neisse | Eiderdamm | |
| Kurt Hoffmann | Glowe | |
| Horst Heiner Kneten | Hörnum | |
| Nausikaa | Vitte-Hiddensee | |
| Konrad Otto | Kühlungsborn | |
| Henrich Wuppesahl | Neustadt in Holstein | |
| Secretarius | Langeoog | |
| Fritz Thieme | Wangerooge | |
| Nimanoa | Damp | |
| Wolfgang Wiese | Timmendorf | |
| Ursula Dettmann | Gelting | |
| Mervi | Neustadt in Holstein | SAR-School |
| Gerhard Elsner | Schilksee | |
| Peter Habig | Wilhelmshaven | |
| Wolfgang Paul Lorenz | Puttgarden | |
| Romy Frank | Horumersiel | |
| Erich Koschubs | Travemünde | |
| Otto Diersch | Norddeich | |
| 9,5m class |||
| Wilma Sikorski | Norddeich | |
| Gillis Gillbranson | Brunsbüttel | |
| Werner Kuntze | Langballigau | |
| Heinz Orth | Freest | |
| Hertha Jeep | Stralsund | |
| Hans Ingwersen | Travemünde | |
| Emil Zimmermann | Fedderwardersiel | |
| Neuharlingersiel | Neuharlingersiel | |
| Heiligenhafen | Heiligenhafen | |
| Casper Otten | Lauterbach | |
| Woltera | Lippe | |
| Walter Rose | Neustadt in Holstein | SAR-School |
| Eckernförde | Eckernförde | |
| Elli Hoffmann-Röser | Baltrum | |

## Gallery

* SK John T. Essberger, one of the large 44m-class cruisers of the DGzRS
* SK Hermann Marwede, the only one of the large 46m-class cruisers of the DGzRS
* The Marwede at sea
* SK Harro Koebke the large 36,5m-class for the Baltic Sea in Sassnitz
* SK Anneliese Kramer the new 28m-class for Cuxhaven
* SK Theodor Storm a 20m-class criuser
* SK Berlin, a 27m-class cruiser of the DGzRS, and a SeaKing helicopter of the German Navy
* SK Herman Helms, a cruiser of the 27m-class
* SK Vormann Jantzen
* S&R boat Eltje
* SK Minden in the port of Sylt island
* SK Bernhard Gruben with daughter boat during an exercise in the North Sea off Juist island