The "bottleneck effect" was read in the investigative report on the "Pallas" disaster:On October 26, 1998, one day after fire broke out on the timber freighter off the Danish North Sea coast, opportunities and time for actions that caused the "Pallas" to run aground could have prevented from falling further and further. Instead, the Italian freighter drifted into the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea without a driver - unobserved because a Danish rescue cruiser left the damaged ship after the crew had been rescued. The "Pallas" finally ran aground off Amrum. Leaking oil caused an environmental catastrophe. Schleswig-Holstein's governing parties at the time, the SPD and the Greens, denied that the state government was responsible for the accident and the oil spill, while the CDU and FDP, in particular, accused Environment Minister Rainder Steenblock (Greens) of failure. However, there was agreement on one point:the confusion of different coordination and deployment sites had to come to an end.
Situation center staffed around the clock
A good four years after the freighter accident, the time had finally come:On January 1, 2003, the CCME in Cuxhaven began its work. At its heart is the Maritime Situation Center (MLZ), which is staffed around the clock and where all information is collected. In the event of an accident, an emergency response team is called up to coordinate the response to the accident at sea, operations on the coast, care for the injured and firefighting. In the case of minor accidents, only the local authorities are responsible if the CCME does not take over. The joint institution of the federal government and the five coastal states can draw on the resources of the authorities involved. The Navy and the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked Persons work together with the command.
Maritime security center as a network
The Havariekommando is a member of the Maritime Security Center (MSZ), which began its work on January 1, 2007 as a network for coastal protection. The Joint Situation Center See (GLZ-See) is the operational unit of the MSZ. This is where the units of the federal government and the coastal states for maritime security are housed together - the maritime situation center of the emergency command, the operational control centers of the federal police, customs and fisheries control as well as the control center of the water police of the coastal states and the water and shipping administration. The individual organizations retain their responsibilities, but the maritime security tasks should be carried out more effectively through the spatial consolidation.
"German Coast Security Concept"
The emergency command repeatedly rehearses the emergency. The federal government's "German Coast Security Concept" includes radar and air surveillance, the use of pilots and emergency tugs for ships that are unable to manoeuvre. Special ships are available in case of an oil spill.