View source for German Federal Coast Guard

{{Redirect|Küstenwache|the German television series|Küstenwache (TV series)}}
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{{Infobox law enforcement agency
| agencyname      = German Federal Coast Guard
| nativename      = {{lang|de|Küstenwache des Bundes}}
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| logo            = Wappen Küstenwache des Bundes.png
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| badge           = German Federal Coast Guard racing stripe.svg
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| country         = Germany
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| provideragency  = [[German Federal Police|Bundespolizei/Federal Police]], [[Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (Germany)|Federal Agency for Agriculture and Nutrition]], [[Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (Germany)|Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration]] and [[Bundeszollverwaltung]]
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The '''German Federal Coast Guard''' ({{langx|de|Küstenwache des Bundes}}) is a civilian law enforcement organisation whose primary missions are border protection, maritime environmental protection, shipping safety, fishery protection and customs enforcement. The {{lang|de|Küstenwache}} is an association of several federal agencies, not a single entity like the [[United States Coast Guard]].

The agencies that make up the {{lang|de|Küstenwache}} have a common plan of action and direct their operations from two Coast Guard Centers ({{langx|de|Küstenwachzentren}}), [[Neustadt in Holstein|Neustadt (Holstein)]] for the [[Baltic Sea]] and [[Cuxhaven]] for the [[North Sea]].

==Structure and responsibilities==
[[File:2019-10-03_-_TDE_-_BP_81_-_Potsdam.jpg|right|thumb|The large offshore patrol vessel {{ship|German patrol boat|Potsdam||2}}]]
[[Image:Mehrzweckschiff Arkona Warnemuende 1.jpg|right|thumb|The multi-purpose vessel ''Arkona'' ]]
[[File:Helgoland 1.jpg|thumb|Customs cruiser ({{lang|de|Zollkreuzer}}) ''Helgoland'' (a [[SWATH]] vessel)]]

Since 2007 the Joint Situation Center Sea (GLZ-See) is in service. GLZ-See is coordinating the operational units of the [[Federal government of germany|federal government]] (Küstenwache) and the [[States of Germany|coastal states of Germany]] ([[Wasserschutzpolizei]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bundespolizei - Küstenwache |url=https://www.bundespolizei.de/Web/DE/05Die-Bundespolizei/03Organisation/02Direktionen/BadBramstedt/Kuestenwache/kuestenwache_node.html |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=www.bundespolizei.de}}</ref>

Units and personnel from these federal agencies make up the coast guard:

* ''[[German Federal Police|Bundespolizei]]'' (Federal Police), [[Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)|Ministry of the Interior]]
* Waterways and Shipping Offices, Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV), [[Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (Germany)|Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Urban Development]]
* ''Kontrolleinheit See'' (Maritime Customs Service), Federal Customs Administration, [[Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany)|Federal Ministry of Finance]]
* Federal Agency for Agriculture and Nutrition (BLE), [[Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food, and Agriculture (Germany)|Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food, and Agriculture]]

==Coast guard personnel==
The personnel serving with the ''Küstenwache'' include both police officers (in the case of the ''Bundespolizei'' and ''Wasserzoll'') and civilians from the Waterways and Shipping Office and other agencies. ''Küstenwache'' personnel do not have [[combatant]] status as it is not a [[military]] unit as many other [[coast guard]]s are. In contrast, the [[United States Coast Guard]] is both a [[Military of the United States|military service]] and a law enforcement organisation and its commissioned officers have both police and military powers. However, police officers serving with the ''Küstenwache'' retain their usual police powers, adjusted to the maritime nature of their job.

==Ships and other vessels==
[[Image:Zollkreuzer.glueckstadt.neu.wmt.jpg|right|thumb|Customs cruiser ''Glückstadt'']]
[[File:Bad Bramstedt (Ship 2002) - Cuxhaven 2008 by-RaBoe 01.jpg|thumb|{{ship|German patrol boat|Bad Bramstedt||2}}]]
[[File:Fischereischutzboot Seeadler im Einsatz.jpg|thumb|Fishery protection vessel ''Seeadler'']]
A total of 27 ships and boats from the aforementioned institutions are in operation (''Bundespolizei'': six ships; ''Wasserzoll'': eight customs cutters, four customs cruisers; WSV: three multi-purpose ships; BLE: two fishery protection boats, three fishery research ships).

The ships are all marked with the legend "Küstenwache" as well as a [[Flag of Germany|black-red-gold signet]] on the hull and the coast guard's [[coat-of-arms]]. However, the hull colour differs from agency to agency: blue for the ''Bundespolizei'', green for the ''Zoll'' and black for the WSV and BLE.

A number of helicopters and planes are in use as well.

Some ships:
* {{ship|German patrol boat|Bad Bramstedt||2}}
* {{ship|German patrol boat|Bayreuth||2}}
* {{ship|German patrol boat|Eschwege||2}}
* {{ship|German patrol boat|Potsdam||2}}
* {{ship|German patrol boat|Bamberg||2}}
* {{ship|German patrol boat|Bad Düben||2}}
* {{ship|MS|Priwall||2}}
* {{ship|MS|Kalkgrund||2}}
* ''Seeadler''
* ''Hamburg''
* ''Mellum''

==Ranks==
<gallery>
File:Dienstgradabzeichen wasserzoll.jpg|Official titles (ranks): From top to bottom; middle service to senior service.
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Law enforcement in Germany]]
* [[German Navy]]
* [[German Maritime Search and Rescue Service]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.bundespolizei.de/Web/DE/05Die-Bundespolizei/03Organisation/02Direktionen/BadBramstedt/Kuestenwache/kuestenwache_anmod.html Link for the Coast guard arm of the German Federal Police, In German]

{{European Border and Coast Guard|state=expanded}}
{{Coast guards}}
{{Law enforcement in Germany}}

[[Category:Coast guards]]
[[Category:Federal law enforcement agencies of Germany]]
[[Category:Emergency services in Germany]]