Havarien, Hoffnungen, Helfer

The chequered history of shipping in the Ems estuary can be traced using shipping disasters as examples. After the Roman navy was lost during a storm in the Ems estuary, the Romans had to accept the Rhine as the north-eastern border of their empire. Until modern times, shipwrecked people could not expect any help. The impoverished island population prayed "God bless our beach" (with flotsam and jetsam), as this was an additional source of income for the islanders to alleviate their poverty. Ensuring their own survival was the top priority, the fate of the shipwrecked was of secondary importance. It was only when the humanitarian question arose in the 19th century that the islanders began to take an interest in the fate of the shipwrecked. A sea rescue system developed on the German coasts. The stranding of the emigrant ship "Alliance" off Borkum in 1860 contributed to the founding of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Association. Two rowing lifeboats were stationed on Borkum. These were only replaced by a motorised lifeboat after the First World War. The Borkum sea rescuers were awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for rescuing the crew of the steamer "Teeswood". Despite all technical progress, human behaviour determines the luck or misfortune of a rescue operation. As the captain of the coaster "Capella" disregarded the advice of the foreman of the rescue cruiser "Georg Breusing", the "Capella" sank off the island. Even sea rescuers can become shipwrecked themselves. For example, the rescue cruiser "Alfried Krupp" was involved in an accident on its way back from a mission to help a Dutch colleague who had fallen overboard. Two crew members lost their lives. The book "Havarien, Hoffnungen, Helfer - Schiffsunglücke in der Emsmündung" (Accidents, Hopes, Helpers - Shipwrecks in the Ems Estuary), published in 2011, reports on the missions of the sea rescuers. The book found many readers not only on the island, but also throughout Germany. The Hamburg publishing house Rumeln Maritim has therefore completely revised and republished it.