Every ship and boat in the navy requires a licence. On closer inspection, the differences to the civilian requirements are not that great.
The German Navy's lack of operational readiness was recently the subject of passionate debate in the marineforum, and the issue of authorisation and licensability regularly raises eyebrows right up to the highest ministerial circles when it comes to initiating international armaments cooperation. The following article provides an overview of the applicable Bundeswehr regulations and their equivalence and derivation from civilian laws and legal norms, which unanimously pursue the common goal of ensuring the day-to-day safe handling of naval vehicles designed primarily for military operations.
Legal basis
In addition to the requirements for the training and suitability of ship crews, minimum technical standards for the design, construction and equipment of ships are necessary, whereby the majority of all relevant legal standards originate from international regulations. Safe participation in maritime transport should be ensured through conformity with these regulations. Examples include the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (Marpol), both of which are issued by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and have the status of UN conventions. At European level, the requirements of the Solas with regard to safety-related ship equipment and life-saving appliances have been translated into a standardised catalogue of requirements, the European Marine Equipment Directive (MED). In Germany, the Ship Safety Act (SchSG) summarises the applicable international and national regulations as annexes and thus transposes them into national law.
The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is responsible for developing an authorisation and monitoring regime for national civil shipping based on the aforementioned regulations and laws in accordance with the Maritime Tasks Act (SeeAufgG). The actual implementation of the relevant laws and ordinances is the responsibility of subordinate bodies of the BMVI, such as the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), as well as the Ship Safety Division of the Ship Safety Division (BG Verkehr) and the recognised classification societies (hereinafter: classes).
From the civilian to the military
The IMO regulations apply exclusively to commercial shipping, and the SchSG explicitly excludes ships of the German Armed Forces, regardless of whether they are naval vessels or ships of the armaments fleet. However, this does not mean that ships of the Bundeswehr may be built and operated in a legal vacuum. Although the SeeAufgG exempts them from the rules of the BMVI, the Federal Ministry of Defence's (BMVg) own regulatory obligation applies:
What rules apply to the Bundeswehr?
In principle, the BMVg must either adopt civilian regulations on its own initiative and put them into force for itself or draw up its own technical regulations for design, construction and equipment if the military purpose makes this necessary. These regulations, including the construction regulations for Bundeswehr watercraft (BV), contain both the special military requirements for a floating platform with regard to stability, NBC protection, signature, etc. as well as safety and therefore authorisation-relevant aspects that guarantee an equivalent level of safety when used as intended.
The formal link between the laws on civilian ship safety and the regulations of the Bundeswehr was created in 2006 by a decree of the then State Secretary Dr Peter Wichert, which was transferred a few years later into the Central Service Regulation (ZDv) "Ship Safety on Watercraft of the Bundeswehr" of the BMVg. It states: "Construction, equipment, [...] (of watercraft) must - unless [...] the booklets of the construction regulation [...] specify otherwise [...] - comply with the safety standard as defined by the material requirements of the Annex to the [...] SchSG [...] and in the legal provisions on occupational health and safety [...]."
In simple terms: the civil protection objective must be fulfilled.
(Almost) everything as in civilian life
Accordingly, the rules for technical ship safety in the Bundeswehr are to be derived directly from the corresponding civilian regulations wherever feasible, thus ensuring a technical safety level comparable to commercial shipping on Bundeswehr ships as well. In line with the approach taken by many NATO partners, compliance with these regulations will in future also be increasingly monitored by the classes, whose own regulations will be drawn up on the basis of the applicable laws and ordinances and whose content will be kept up to date. In principle, an inspection of ships against the class rules constitutes proof of compliance with the relevant civilian legal standards. For this reason, the German Armed Forces are also making increasing use of this option and have watercraft built, approved and periodically inspected at least in part according to class.
This is not only possible for units in the defence fleet and naval auxiliary vessels, whose usage profile does not differ significantly from commercial ships, but is also necessary for economic reasons. However, as soon as military-specific requirements such as stability or signature become relevant for a ship, the usability of civilian standards reaches its limits. The reason for this lies in the nature of the IMO regulations, which were ultimately written for commercial shipping.
Solas demands and military realities
Painted grey and approved for civil use: On-board crane of an EGV. Photo: Bw/Andrea Bienert
In order to achieve a technical safety level comparable to the civilian standard on Bundeswehr ships, it is therefore essential to understand the safety objectives of the civilian regulations and to transfer them analogously to the military sector.
The requirements of the Solas and derived regulations such as the Life Saving Appliances (LSA) Code or MED are tailored to the operational aspects of merchant ships, according to which the safety and lives of the people on board always have the highest priority. Accordingly, all technical specifications for the construction and equipment of ships are aimed at avoiding accidents as far as possible or minimising their impact on the lives and health of people. In case of doubt, the ship is abandoned in favour of life and health.
This partially contradicts the mission of warships, according to which this mission takes precedence over the lives of the crew in (combat) operations. Instead of a speedy evacuation of the ship, the aim is to create opportunities for damage defence and to continue the battle. This way of thinking is reflected, for example, in the BV's specifications for rescue equipment, leakage and fire extinguishing systems and redundancies of all systems that are necessary to maintain ship operations.
In accordance with the Bundeswehr's authority to regulate itself, in such cases the fulfilment of the BV requirements is formally equivalent to the fulfilment of Solas requirements with regard to eligibility for approval. However, civilian acceptance in accordance with class rules is then no longer possible - the Bundeswehr must carry out the acceptance itself.
In order to take account of the limited applicability of solas to military vessels, some classification societies have now also drawn up so-called Naval Rules, i.e. classification rules for specific military applications. In the case of maritime procurements by the Bundeswehr, however, the special military features have so far been covered by the use of the BV.
The Naval Ship Code (NSC) and the Naval Submarine Code (NSubC) of the International Naval Safety Association (INSA), which are being applied for the first time within the Bundeswehr in the U 212CD procurement project, are another approach to transferring the civilian IMO rules to the military sector.
From the big to the small
The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) is the licensing authority for Bundeswehr vessels. A mandatory prerequisite for authorisation for maritime traffic is the existence of inspection certificates (approved inspection body, class or Bundeswehr specialist technology) for the systems and equipment relevant to safe ship operation or corresponding operating approvals from the BAAINBw. Some of these test certificates and operating licences follow the requirements of the Solas and derived regulations. In addition to aspects of ship safety, the requirements of occupational health and safety and product safety must also be observed.
Both the Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG) and the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV) as well as the Product Safety Act (ProdSG) apply almost in their entirety to the Bundeswehr. Incidentally, this is because exceptions (special regulations) to these provisions are possible if this is absolutely necessary due to special military requirements - this will be discussed in more detail later.
Mostly civilian
The equipment on Bundeswehr ships that requires approval in terms of occupational safety does not usually differ fundamentally from comparable equipment on civilian ships. For example, it makes no difference in terms of approval whether the on-board crane on a naval task force supply ship is only used to take on provisions or also to lift palletised ammunition. Hydraulic accumulators and other pressure equipment do not care whether they are installed on a cruiser or a "grey" ship.
For this reason, the BAAINBw proceeds according to the principle that everything that can be authorised for civilian use is also authorised for civilian use.
Lift systems and pressurised systems, for example, are subject to the BetrSichV as systems requiring monitoring and must therefore, depending on their classification, be approved by a competent person or an approved monitoring body (ZÜS) before commissioning. Equipment that is relevant for safe participation in maritime traffic must be MED-compliant and bear the wheel mark. Equipment that is not MED-compliant or installations that do not fully fulfil the requirements of civil regulations (BetrSichV, SOLAS, etc.) will receive an operating permit from the BAAINBw in individual cases as part of a replacement procedure.
In some cases, civilian authorisation is not possible. Photo: Bw/Tom Twardy
Civil rules don't always fit
There are cases in which civilian approval of equipment is not possible because its military-specific design does not or cannot fulfil the requirements of civilian regulations, as otherwise its military value would be restricted. A simple example would be the buster rigid inflatable boats integrated on board the new frigate class 125, which, according to Solas and the LSA Code, may not actually exceed a length of 8.50 metres for use as rescue equipment.
Due to the additional military roles of these boats (escort, transport of special forces and boarding), a larger, longer design was necessary. For this reason, one of Solas' requirements was in conflict with the military requirement profile. As a result, the busters were granted a deviation approval by the Public Supervisory Authority of the German Armed Forces (ÖrABw) on the basis of an expert opinion and, on this basis, an operating licence by the BAAINBw.
At some point, everyone has to undergo an MOT
During the course of its use, work equipment must be inspected regularly in accordance with BetrSichV. In addition to authorised civilian bodies, this activity is also carried out by the Bundeswehr Technical Inspection Authority (TÜBw). Like ÖrABw, TÜBw is organisationally part of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Infrastructure, Environmental Protection and Services (BAIUDBw). The separation from the BAAINBw procurement authority is entirely intentional in order to ensure that the tasks of these two bodies are performed independently of the needs of procurement and utilisation.
The practical inspections are carried out by the personnel of the assigned Technical Inspection Point (TÜP). For the TÜP Marine, the inspection personnel of the Naval Support Command perform this task. The performance of prescribed periodic inspections for work equipment on naval units by soldiers is significant in that these inspections are often also due when a unit is in operation, where it is generally not possible to send employees from a civilian organisation.
Possibility of exception
While the laws and regulations on ship safety do not nominally apply to the Bundeswehr and are only applied on the basis of internal regulations, compliance with the ArbSchG, BetrSichV and ProdSG is also mandatory in the military, as soldiers are entitled to the same protection as civilians. Exceptions must be justified on a case-by-case basis and authorised by the ÖrABw.
The ProdSG does not apply to "products which by their design are intended exclusively for use for military purposes". The emphasis here is on the wording "by design". Although the grey on-board crane of an EGV is designed by the manufacturer for specific use on a warship, it does not differ in its structural characteristics from a crane on a merchant ship. The ProdSG therefore applies. The situation is different for a weapon, for example - the ProdSG does not apply here. Weapon safety follows the German Armed Forces' own rules.
The BetrSichV expressly permits exceptions by the BMVg "[...] if compelling reasons of defence or the fulfilment of intergovernmental obligations of the Federal Republic of Germany require this and safety is ensured in another way". The key words in this passage of the ordinance are "imperative" and "security by other means". One example is the possibility of overriding the safety circuit on a system in order to be able to operate to a limited extent even with damaged systems in the event of combat. However, this requires extensive training of the operating personnel and the drill-like practice of special behaviour in damage situations - as is the practice in the navy.
As the SchSG with its regulations on the occupational health and safety of the crew on board does not nominally apply to the armed forces, the ArbSchG applies directly to ships of the armed forces. However, a German Armed Forces-specific application regulation (BMVg-ArbSchGANwV) declares that deviations from the ArbSchG are permissible in principle if the constraints of the mission make this necessary. Soldiers can therefore be exposed to risks to their lives and health during deployment to an extent that would never be acceptable in civilian working life. However, these hazards may only result from military requirements and not from unsafe work equipment that has not been properly authorised and tested, for example!
The authorisation procedure at a glance
The authorisation for maritime traffic is the formal permission that the ship is technically guaranteed to participate safely in maritime traffic. This means that at least a provisional licence must be available when it leaves the shipyard under its own power for the first time and takes part in maritime traffic.
Before a ship with Bundeswehr personnel as part of the crew sets sail for the first time, a licence for maritime traffic must be issued by the BAAINBw management. Essential preconditions are
- Confirmation by the inspection body and the official quality assurance that the vessel, equipment including life-saving appliances and technical documentation are suitable for safe operation in accordance with the intended purpose
- Availability of authorisations (civilian or from BAAINBw specialist agencies) for all equipment requiring authorisation
- Safety certificate from ÖrABw, also based on occupational safety inspections on board
- Determination of safe commissioning (FSI) by the project management in the BAAINBw, including enactment of the workplace-related risk assessment
- Flag certificate from the BMVg
This completes the technical authorisation process. If the personnel (e.g. training and availability of the crew) and organisational requirements are also met, the ship may participate in maritime traffic in accordance with the law.
All other proofs of performance as well as the operational test as part of the integrated verification process serve to ensure proper fulfilment of the contract by the private-sector contractor vis-à-vis the public-sector client or to validate the required capabilities of the new ship.
Conclusion
The German Armed Forces' own authorisation regime, together with continuous technical monitoring, ensures two things:
- The technical safety standard on Bundeswehr watercraft is at least as high as on civilian commercial vessels.
- Continuous care, maintenance and monitoring of the ships ensures that they are ready for use when they are needed.
In addition to the high level of training and motivation of the crews, this directly promotes the operational readiness of our navy.
Author: Technical Senior Government Councillor Andreas Groh is Head of the Approval Office for Maritime Equipment at the BAAINBw.
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