Politics: Central reporting office for unseamanly behaviour in the Nordic countries

+++ This article is an April Fool's joke +++

Everyone has experienced it: situations in port and at sea that start with bad behaviour and end in criminal offences. The northern countries now want to prevent this and are setting up a central reporting office where behaviour below the criminal threshold can also be reported.

Quick and easy reporting

The aim is to offer citizens the opportunity to report unseemly behaviour quickly and easily using an online form, email or telephone. According to a spokesperson for the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Interior, this also includes provocative behaviour in the water sports environment that is likely to incite criminal offences or when actions or statements are only just below the threshold of criminal liability.

In future, there will be a low-threshold website in simple language on which a reporting form will be available. An app is also to be set up so that the situation in question can be reported quickly and easily using a smartphone directly from the scene of the incident. The smartphone's photo and video function can also be used.

What should be reported is not clearly defined

According to the ministry, a feeling will quickly develop among water sports enthusiasts as to which behaviour justifies a report. Clear-cut cases, such as disturbing the peace at night or sexual harassment in the washrooms, are not seen as a problem. People are now also sufficiently aware of unseamanly behaviour in terms of nature conservation, such as anchoring in seagrass beds, where it is not prohibited but should be for nature conservation reasons.

The more technical sailing issues are more difficult. For example, missing fenders on outboarders in the packet are not a reason for a report, but the explicit refusal of a neighbouring berth holder is. This also includes the dinghy moored amidships. Typical cases, such as the flag on the backstay or not wearing life jackets, would also have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, as reasons of individual justification are always conceivable.

In case of doubt: Report!

Demarcation problems could also arise in the run-up to the practice of boating, for example when using the barbecue area of a marina. Here, however, it should also be possible to report socially unacceptable behaviour, similar to the "No power to hate" initiatives, if it is likely to disrupt peaceful coexistence. This could be discrimination against non-swimmers and vegetarians, but also actual behaviour such as occupying a reserved barbecue area.

When in doubt, it is better to report more than not at all, said the ministry spokesperson. The motto is to show civil courage and not to look the other way when sport becomes the stage for unfair behaviour. There are no negative consequences for those who report irrelevant cases anyway. The aim is to have a positive influence on co-operation in water sports and to bring as many black sheep as possible to heel.

Consequences for the offenders still unclear

The reports from all northern states are to be collected in a central office, which will be set up in the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Interior. A seasonal employee has already been hired to process the reported cases, for which a half-time position has been approved.

However, it is still unclear what consequences a report of unseaworthy behaviour could have. Port bans and the temporary withdrawal of driving licences are being discussed.

Organised sailing welcomes the registration offices

Representatives of organised sailing welcomed the plan. "It's about time we did in sailing what has long been standard practice in many federal states with reporting centres to combat extremism," the spokesperson for the national sailing association conference told YACHT online.

However, criticism has come from the water sports industry. "Denunciations organised by the authorities certainly don't help us to make getting into water sports attractive," said the Secretary General of the German Association of Recreational Boatyards in a press release.

+++ This article is an April Fool's joke +++