The federal office provides radar and air surveillance, piloting and emergency tugs for ships that are unable to manoeuvre.

The process of German maritime rescue and relief operations has often been criticized as dangerously bureaucratic, too slow and uncoordinated.

Several attempts to get the ship under tow were unsuccessful, and it ran aground four days later off the German island of Amrum, in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park.

The case led to political discontent over a lack of coordinated emergency tow capabilities on the German coast, and contributed to the creation CCME.

On January 1, 2003, the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) (in German: Havariekommando) commenced operations.