Since January 2022, the small boat certificate has been mandatory for commercially used recreational craft up to 20 metres in length on inland waterways. Numerous exceptions have now been included in the underlying Inland Navigation Personnel Ordinance.
Since the introduction of the licence requirement, the purpose for which pleasure craft up to 20 metres in length were used on inland waterways did not matter. Skippers were required to hold an inland navigation licence if they had a corresponding engine.
Legislators wanted to create clarity
With the introduction of the small boat certificate four years ago, the legislator wanted to ensure that this recreational craft licence was only used for sport and leisure purposes. If a boat in question is used commercially, the new small boat licence should be mandatory.
In the end, however, the new regulation overshot the mark. This is because in some areas of sport and leisure boating, the recreational boating licence would no longer have been sufficient if the regulation had been applied strictly. The reason: depending on the interpretation, the criterion of commerciality would now also have affected sailing schools, sailing club coaches, charter company staff and many others.
Education and training would have been more difficult
In order to operate a trainer boat with more than 15 hp, for example, the new small boat certificate would have been required on federal waterways in zones one to four - these are mainly inland waterways, but also parts of the Kiel and Flensburg Fjords - after a transitional period until January 2027.
Numerous associations of organised sport and the water sports industry sharply criticised this.
Happy turnaround
Now the operators of sailing schools and clubs can breathe a sigh of relief. An amended version of the Inland Navigation Personnel Ordinance came into force at the beginning of the year.
This now expressly stipulates the following exceptions to the small ship product obligation.
Exemptions from the small ship product obligation
- Charter briefing with charter guests on board,
- Repatriation or transfer of charter guests in the event of an accident, skipper or crew failure or bad weather,
- Training on training boats with students,
- Test drives and trips for advertising and information purposes,
- Transfer of boats to shipyards for repair, test runs and trips to or from the crane or slipway, or
- Escorts at sporting events.
Nothing changes on the coast or at sea
In the maritime sector, everything remains the same. Outside the scope of the Inland Navigation Personnel Ordinance, the regulations on certificates of competence remain as they are. For commercial use, additional licences may be required in addition to the recreational craft licence for sea use. Which circumstances these are is regulated in § 15 of the See-Sportbootverordnung.
