Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and the interior minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Christian Pegel, visited Rostock Port (Rostock-Warnemünde) today to gain insights into the work of the water police and the public order support force of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. They also discussed the issue of international ports attracting organised crime as well as measures to prevent the infiltration of port operations. These matters are highly relevant in Rostock, especially in view of heightened security measures at major European North Sea ports.

Protecting port operations from organised crime

As hubs of international trade, ports are important gateways for high volumes of illegal drugs, and this brings with it the violence associated with such trade. Since major European ports such as Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg are stepping up their security measures, it is likely that Rostock could become a focus for organised crime. For this reason, Federal Minister Faeser called for a joint approach to be adopted by security authorities at federal and state level together with private port companies. She pointed out that awareness campaigns could also help port employees and operators to resist becoming accomplices to crime, even in the face of violence, threats and bribery.

Last May, Federal Minister Faeser met with the members of the "Coalition of European countries against serious and organised crime" in Hamburg to discuss a coordinated approach to fighting organised crime. Last January, Germany helped to establish the European Ports Alliance, which was launched by the European Commission, to make logistics centres and maritime supply chains more resistant to abuse by organised crime networks.

Federal Police maritime force shows what it can do

In the Federal Police maritime force, Germany has a highly modern and professional police operations capability. To carry out its tasks, it has at its disposal six seagoing vessels. It also uses maritime helicopters for its surveillance of the North Sea and Baltic Sea areas. Federal Minister Faeser took part in a deployment exercise on the Federal Police ship BP 84 “Neustadt”. The ship, which Ms Faeser launched in June 2023, is equipped with a helicopter landing pad, two winches for carrying police boats, and is capable of refuelling helicopters. The Federal Police maritime force has an important role in the surveillance of critical maritime infrastructure in the North Sea and Baltic Sea areas. It is also responsible for coastguard duties.

"Man overboard" exercise

The Federal Police Special Forces GSG 9 also conduct operations at sea, especially in connection with fighting very serious organised crime and terrorism. During Federal Minister Faeser’s visit, the Federal Police maritime forces and GSG 9 conducted a joint exercise. As part of an exercise called “Man overboard”, the BP 84 Neustadt sailed up to Denmark’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) near the Rødsand offshore wind farm. The exercise included the use of an 8.5 metre special forces boat belonging to GSG 9. A Federal Police Super Puma helicopter carried out a rescue and landed on the flight deck of the BP 84 Neustadt, where the rescued person could receive emergency medical treatment.