Spotlight

Warnings and Notices

The Navigational Warning System of the Federal Republic of Germany issues warnings to shipping when hazards are imminent or have already occurred. It is composed of the following parts:

Warning messages from the Radio Navigational Warnings Centre Emden

The Radio Navigational Warnings Centre is manned day and night, issues navigational warnings for German sea areas and distributes them via NAVTEX.

Notices to Seafarers (BfS) from the Federal Waterways and Shipping Directorate (GDWS)

The waterway and shipping authorities indicate events and measures of local importance in the announcements for seafarers (BfS).

  • The BfS can be found daily at www.elwis.de, the electronic waterway information service of the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration.

Notices to Mariners (NfS) from the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH)

For safe navigation, mariners must always use the current editions of the nautical charts and nautical publications, correct them continuously and keep them up to date. All changes that occur after the publication of a nautical chart or publication can be found in the "Notices to Mariners (NfS)".

The NfS are published weekly in digital format. They contain corrections and reports on measures and events of major or supra-regional importance.

For more information, see Notices to Mariners (NfS).

Military shooting exercises

In areas of the North Sea and Baltic Sea military shooting exercises are regularly held. Here you will find an overview of the affected shooting areas and corresponding shooting times in the area covered by BSH sea charts.

Temporary prohibited areas in the working area Fehmarnbelt Tunnel