Website of the Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation

Welcome to the website of the Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU), Federal Higher Authority subordinated to the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.

The Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) registers and investigates all types of marine casualties on board or with the involvement of German flagged ships world-wide. The BSU acts independently of the respective Flag State within the German territorial waters and in certain cases within the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as well.

The sole objective of BSU accident investigations is to determine the circumstances and causes as well as the contributing factors of the accident with a view to preserve life and avoid accidents in the future, not to apportion blame, or settle liability or claims.