On St Nicholas' Day, a funeral congregation on board the funeral ship "Aegir" got into a dangerous situation when the boat got stuck on a sandbank off the eastern tip of Juist as the water ran out. At around 13:45, the 21-metre-long ship with ten people on board was pushed onto the coast by southerly winds of up to four Beaufort and a strong ebb current. The "Aegir" was unable to free itself from this lee shore situation - where a ship is pushed onto land by wind and current - under its own power. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre ("Mrcc") Bremen of the DGzRS was informed of the situation and immediately initiated rescue measures.
Complex rescue operation with three units
The sea rescuers from the Norderney station set course with the rescue cruiser "Eugen" towards the shipwrecked vessel, which was stuck on the "Kalfamer" sandbank less than a hundred metres north-east of the island of Juist. However, the rescuers were unable to free the ship because the water level was already too low - an attempt with a towline failed as the ship was already too high on the sandbank. The fast ferry "Inselexpress 2", which had offered its assistance, was also unable to reach the shipwrecked vessel despite its shallow draught.
The people on board were finally rescued by the shallow-draft rescue boat "Wilma Sikorski", which is also stationed on Norderney. The sea rescuers were able to go alongside the "Aegir" with this special boat and picked up seven passengers and one crew member. The rescued people were then handed over to the rescue cruiser "Eugen", which brought them safely to the harbour in Norddeich. Two crew members stayed behind on the funeral ship to assist with further rescue attempts and to secure the ship.
The burial at sea ended dramatically for the mourners. We describe how it normally takes place in of this impressive reportage. We also talk about the Podcast with a captain of a funeral ship.
Further salvage attempts
After successfully rescuing the people, the sea rescuers made another attempt to pull the funeral ship off the sandbank with the "Wilma Sikorski" and the rescue boat "Otto Diersch" from the Norddeich station, which had arrived in the meantime. These efforts were unsuccessful. With the water rising, the undertaker was then able to free herself under her own power and reach Norddeich harbour, accompanied by the sea rescuers.
Dangers on the hunting ground
We repeatedly report on maritime emergencies, especially in the sea galleys, for example in mid-October 2025 two men after a stranding in the Seegatt between Spiekeroog and Wangerooge by a navy SAR helicopter. In September, the DGzRS sea rescuers rescued two sailors from a life-threatening situation in the Seegatt off Norderney. The men were with their boat hit a sandbank and became a pawn in the surf. Also off Norderney, a family of six had to be rescued from a dangerous situation by sea rescuers in April 2025. Their sailing yacht had got stuck on a sandbank and was in danger of leaking in the surf.
These many maritime emergencies illustrate the special challenges of the area. We have summarised what sailors should pay particular attention to in this Special article compiled.
