Emergency Response to Water Ingress at Schlüttsiel Port
On April 30, 2026, at 11:28 a.m., the Bredstedt Fire Department responded swiftly to an emergency at Schlüttsiel port. The call came after the crew of the fishing vessel ‘Nordlicht’ discovered water entering the ship from an unknown source. The Ockholm Fire Department also joined the operation to assist. The crew of the ‘Nordlicht’ attempted to manage the situation by pumping out the water while simultaneously alerting emergency services.
Responding to the urgent situation, the lifeboat “Ernst Meier-Hedde” from the German Maritime Search and Rescue Association (DGzRS) station in Amrum, along with local water police, arrived on the scene. Firefighters helped coordinate the continuous pumping efforts as the leak could not be temporarily sealed. Concerned about potential contamination from pollutants in the water, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) from Niebüll was notified. However, their assistance proved unnecessary as the emergency response progressed effectively.
After about an hour and a half of intense efforts, control of the situation was transferred to the water police and the lifeboat, which then took over the pumping operations. All actions were conducted in cooperation with the State Agency for Coastal Protection, National Park, and Marine Conservation Schleswig-Holstein (LKN.SH), which oversees coastal safety in the area. The ‘Nordlicht’ successfully left Schlüttsiel on May 1 and returned to its homeport in Greetsiel by May 2.
