It legally forms part of the state of Lower Saxony and is completely surrounded by the German exclusive economic zone.
The move was opposed by the United States and German Navy, who feared a reprisal from East Germany, which could significantly reduce access to the Baltic Sea by extending its own territorial waters.
Tiefwasserreede was then defined in law as the patch of sea bounded by the following points:[3] The stretch of water at the mouths of the rivers Jade, Weser and Elbe – the Heligoland Bight – is one of the busiest shipping channels in the world, and when there are delays at German ports, significant traffic can build up in the Tiefwasserreede.
During the 2021–2022 global supply chain crisis, over a dozen ships were sometimes waiting at a time in the roadstead.
[6] As well as a mooring for ships, the Tiefwasserreede is also used as a dumping ground for bay mud from dredging of the Elbe at Hamburg.