The information in the Notice to mariners from 09.05. couldn't be any tighter: "The approach buoy from Lippe harbour has been withdrawn without replacement," writes the responsible Baltic Sea Waterways and Shipping Office. The removal of the red and white navigation mark from its position at 54°20.1'N; 010° 39.1'E off the Baltic coast of Holstein also marks the end of the popular harbour between Fehmarnsund and Kiel Fjord.
Berth holders in Lippe were surprised
The owner of the harbour, Count Franz von Waldersee, whose Waldersee estate also operated the port of Lippe, had already given notice to all holders of permanent berths months ago with effect from March 2025. The sea rescuers also had to vacate their berths; most recently, the sea rescue boat "Woltera" was stationed in Lippe.
The reason for the end of the harbour was just as surprising: After Lippe had repeatedly struggled with silting, members of the association were able to secure the dredging work in the long term, as the site was classified as an emergency harbour in 2022 and the state of Schleswig-Holstein assumed the costs of dredging.
Reasons for the closure are being questioned
In the end, however, it was not the sand that was to blame, but the dilapidated wooden pier at the harbour entrance. According to the operator, it was so badly infested by the Toredo Navalis mussel that it was in danger of collapsing and safe operation was no longer possible.
However, some of those involved see the drilling shell as a pretext and suspect that the actual cause is a smouldering legal dispute over the rental contract between the operator and the local yacht club Lippe/Ostsee. The events were also overshadowed by a dispute the boats still in winter storage on land at the time of the closure of the port of Lippe.
