Category: Shipping

Job with danger and depth

Martin Sulanke has been a professional diver for 36 years. He works on the "Atair". In an interview on board, he explains what his job entails and why it can be dangerous underwater. "I originally come from deep-sea fishing," says Sulanke, who wears a white stubbly beard, a silver earring and a red cap. The 61-year-old, who now lives in Bad Schwartau near Lübeck, comes from the former GDR. He later joined a hydraulic engineering company and trained as a professional diver. After the end of the GDR, he joined the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). He has served the authority for 34 years, which...

Weiterlesen

The wreck seekers from the Atair

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency plays a key role in ensuring safety in German waters. Divers from the agency search for underwater obstacles in the Elbe. On the Elbe, between Hamburg and the estuary. A northern German autumn day, the water is grey-brown, sometimes it rains. Large ships pass by, heading for the Hanseatic city or the North Sea. A boat rocks on the waves, "Ruden" is written on the bow. Three hoses in blue, yellow and orange, wound around each other in a spiral, lead from the boat into the depths. They lead down to Tjark Lange. The diver is travelling towards the bottom. The blue hose is used to...

Weiterlesen

By hook or by crook: Sinking of the cargo ship Melanie Schulte

Shortly before Christmas 1952, the cargo ship Melanie Schulte disappeared almost without a trace in the North Atlantic. The accident has now been reconstructed at the Helmholtz Centre Hereon. The sinking of the multi-purpose freighter Melanie Schulte west of the Scottish coast on the night of 21 to 22 December 1952 is considered one of the worst disasters in German merchant shipping after the Second World War. All 35 crew members lost their lives and it was not until weeks later that wreckage and a lifebuoy washed up on the Scottish coast. The parts indicated that the ship, which had a displacement of 10,000 tonnes, had broken apart. The Melanie Schulte, which only entered service on 9 November 1952...

Weiterlesen

Skirmishes in the Baltic Sea

After the beginning of the Second World War, the Kriegsmarine took over the bathing ship Rugard. In the final days of the war, it rescued thousands of refugees and soldiers. Like many other German passenger ships, the Rugard, which was launched on 13 March 1927 at Stettiner Oderwerke and used in the seaside resort service, was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She was initially a flagship and supply ship before finally being deployed as the lead ship of the 9th Security Division. In this capacity, she not only saw the end of the war, but also Access marineforum digital+ Are you already a registered user? Log in here now - also MOV members: Username...

Weiterlesen

Disaster on Christmas Eve

A good 200 years ago, two ships sank in a storm off Denmark. Today, a remarkable museum in Thorsminde commemorates the many dead - and the dangers of the Danish west coast. In mid-December 1811, Vice-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, commander-in-chief of the British fleet in the Baltic Sea, made a fatal decision that he later came to regret. Persuaded by his deputy Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds, his flag captain David Oliver Guion and the captain of the ship of the line HMS Defence, he sent the damaged ship of the line HMS St. George with a crew of 765 men and civilian men and women accompanied by HMS Defence with 550 men and women, contrary to his convictions....

Weiterlesen
en_GBEnglish