Measuring points

Measuring points are structural or technical installations which are firmly or floatingly attached to the seabed which serve marine investigations of the environment or its components.

Licensing regime

The construction and operation of measuring stations in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Federal Republic of Germany and on the high seas require the approval of the BSH (§ 1 para. 2 sentence 1 nos. 3 and 4 in conjunction with § 6 para. 1 SeeAnlG) in accordance with the Seeanlagengesetz (SeeAnlG). Pursuant to § 8 SeeAnlG, this also requires the approval of the Directorate-General for Waterways and Shipping with regard to the interests of shipping.

For installations to be deployed in the 12 nm zone, the respective local waterway and shipping authorities are competent in accordance with § 31 of the Federal Waterway Act (WaStrG).


If a safety zone has already been established for an approved offshore wind farm in the EEZ, measuring points in this entire area are not subject to approval. Instead, the "General Order of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency for the Establishment of Measuring Stations in Safety Zones of Offshore Wind Farms in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)" of 21 June 2017, which entered into force on 1 July 2017, applies.

However, measuring points that are to be deployed within safety zones must be reported to the BSH at least 8 weeks before the start of construction. When setting and retrieving the measuring points, the respective form must be submitted to the BSH. For all other measuring points, a corresponding application must also be submitted to the BSH 8 weeks in advance. Please send all applications and notifications as well as general enquiries exclusively to the following post office box: EingangOdM@bsh.de.