German Federal Coast Guard

German Federal Coast Guard
Küstenwache des Bundes
Racing stripe
Racing stripe
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agencyGermany
Operations jurisdictionGermany
General nature
Specialist jurisdiction
  • Coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue.
Operational structure
Services provided byBundespolizei/Federal Police, Federal Agency for Agriculture and Nutrition, Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration and Bundeszollverwaltung
Uniformed asGerman Federal Coast Guard

The German Federal Coast Guard (German: Küstenwache des Bundes) is a civilian law enforcement organisation whose primary missions are border protection, maritime environmental protection, shipping safety, fishery protection and customs enforcement. The Küstenwache is an association of several federal agencies, not a single entity like the United States Coast Guard.

The agencies that make up the Küstenwache have a common plan of action and direct their operations from two Coast Guard Centers (German: Küstenwachzentren), Neustadt (Holstein) for the Baltic Sea and Cuxhaven for the North Sea.