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Jahresbericht Nr. 16/1961 
D. SUMMARY 
GENERAD DEVBDQPMENT OF THE GERMAN HYDROGRAPHIC INSTITUTE DURING 1961 
It is for various reasons that within the history of the- German Hydro- 
graphic Institute the year of 1961 will be looked upon as one with distinct 
features. 
Important events of the year under review resulted from the personnel 
20) 
sector: on the one hand there was the change in presidency ‘ and on the 
other on behalf of the loss of a relatively great number of officials, espec 
ially some of high ranks, partly because they reached the age of retire- 
mentís officials compared with 2 in I960) and due to cases of death (3 
officials of high ranks). This is a trend which so far could not be adjusted 
and which essentially accounts for a further aggravation of the serious 
staff situation. 
Another motive must be seen in the fact that the German Hydrographic 
Institute was entrusted with new tasks. The G.H.I. participated substant 
ially in projecting a research vessel which in co-operation with the Deut 
sche Eorschungsgemeinschaft (German Association for Research) is to be con 
structed, and, apart from this, was concerned in replacing the two old wreck 
searching boats. 
Penally, it was for the unusually large number of visitors, from foreign 
countries in particular, and the resulting conversations -and discussions that 
the year of 1961 turned out to have been an extremely fruitful one. 
During its 17 years of existence the German Hydrographic Institute as one 
of the oldest superior authorities of the Federal German Republic had to 
perform the tasks without delay after initial grat time-dependent diffi 
culties, (... "that nothing is left undone to assist fishermen and seamen 
who operate in German waters or who pass them on their journey ...", see 
Annual Report No, 1/1946, p. 18), Apart from this the G.H.I. has accomp 
lished with a relatively small staff the organizational structure with all 
relevant facilities, offices, laboratories, vessels, work shops, instruments 
etc. To begin with most emphasis was placed on purely nautical sectors: 
sailing directions, charts, notices to mariners, storm surge warning ser 
vice, ice service and others, while pronounced restrictions were at first 
imposed on the various branches of functional research, without which no 
hydrographic service could exist. 
20) See Annual Report No. 15/1960, pp. 4-20