28 
BSH kompakt 
and 38 unknown wrecks and underwater obstructions 
were found. The positions of 148 known wrecks were 
resurveyed, 23 of which were found at shallower depths 
than earlier records had Indicated. 
Nautical information system 
The nautical Information system for shipping maintain 
ed by the BSH comprises 630 nautical charts and 
44 nautical books covering the European waters. It is 
updated by weekly Notices to Mariners. One new chart 
and 82 new editions were issued. 11 of the 13 small 
craft chart series were published as new editions. For 
the first time, a joint German/Polish small craft chart 
series for the Odra estuary has been published. Four 
new pilots, part of the Fist of Fights, 12 supplements to 
pilots, and 7 other nautical books were produced and 
published in 2000. The full contents of the weekly No 
tices to Mariners, including block corrections to nauti 
cal charts and lists of corrections sorted by charts, are 
now available on the Internet (www.bsh.de). Also, the 
BSH's small craft charts can be updated in this way. 
The BSH, for the first time, has issued an English edi 
tion of the SeeschlfffahrtsstraBenordnung (German 
Traffic Regulations for Navigable Waterways), which 
will make it easier for International shipping to comply 
with traffic regulations on German waterways. 
Electronic navigational chart 
The official ECDIS data are marketed jointly by the hy 
drographic services of the Northern and Western Euro 
pean countries through a data centre In Stavanger, 
Norway, under the trademark PRIMAR. The data pro 
duced by the BSH enable International shipping to nav 
igate the Baltic Sea off the German coast including the 
Baltic ports and to cross the German Bight. The data 
for the German North Sea coast are to be produced as 
quickly as possible. 
International co-operation of hydro- 
graphic services 
The international co-operation of hydrographic ser 
vices has been strengthened In order to achieve the 
required harmonization and standardization as well as 
an optimal division of tasks. For that purpose, an ex 
traordinary conference of the International Hydrograph 
ic Organization and several meetings on a regional 
level were held. 
Activities in the Exclusive Economic 
Zone 
Supported by the Act on Renewable Energies, plans 
for the installation of wind farms off the German North 
Sea and Baltic Sea coasts have reached a concrete 
stage. The BSH is responsible for granting permits for 
projects in the Exclusive Economic Zone areas out 
side the German territorial waters. Ten applications for 
the approval of wind farm projects, comprising pilot 
and final implementation phases, have been received. 
In the extensive approval processes, concerns of 
shipping, nature and environmental protection, mining 
law, the navy, fisheries, as well as the interests of sub 
marine cable and pipeline operators have to be consid 
ered and put into balance. 
The BSH investigated the potential impacts of two ex 
ploratory well drilling processes on the marine eco 
system. It granted several permits for the laying and 
operation of submarine cables and pipelines. During 
its routine Inspections of submarine pipelines and 
cables, it did not find any major damage. In 8 cases, 
foreign institutes received permits for marine research 
activities Involving the sea floor. Because of the more 
liberal German approval policy as compared to other 
states, 27 research cruises were carried out without 
permits being required.