Weser-Pilot

A Sea Lion SAR helicopter and a lifeboat came to the aid of a seriously injured pilot on the Outer Weser River on the evening of Jan 3, 2026. The man had fallen aboard the "Weserpilot". At around 7 p.m., the "Weser Pilot" contacted the MRCC Bremen and urgently required medical assistance. The pilot station vessel was located on the Outer Weser estuary at the time, approximately eight nautical miles off Wremen. The lifdeboat 'Hermann Rudolf Meyer', stationed in Bremerhaven, and an SAR helicopter from the German Naval Air Wing 5 were mobilised. The "Weser Pilot" was asked to proceed to rendezvous with the lifeboat. An emergency physician and an ambulance crew were deployed to the 'Hermann Rudolf Meyer'. With the land-based emergency medical service personnel on board, the slifeboatset course for the "Weser Pilot." Seas of two to three meters with an outgoing tide and wind speeds of six to eight Beaufort from the northwest made the approach difficult. At approximately the same time, the helicoopter and the sea rescuers arrived at the pilot vessel. The weather conditions improved somewhat, allowing the SAR helicopter to winch the patient up using a rescue basket. Meanwhile, the lifeboat secured the scene. The helicopter then transported the patient safely to a hospital.

The lifeboats from the DGzRs stations Wangerooge and Hooksiel along with the "Weser Pilot" assisted an 11-m-sailing yacht north of Wangerooge on May 30, 2023. The crew of two - a man and a woman - had reported water ingress in the engine room. They were unable to cope with the flooding with the onboard pump.The lifeboats 'Bernhard Gruben' and 'Fritz Thieme' rushed to the scene, and the pilot tender launched its dinghy as the first to be on site. A crew member was transferred onto the distressed yacht to support the sailors. With a strong north wind and a swell of more than one meter, the lifeboat 'Fritz Thieme' finally took the yacht alongside and handed over capable bilge pumps. The water in the engine room did not rise any further. The crew of the "Weser Pilot" was released from the mission. The 'Bernhard Gruben' accompanied the tow to the port of Wangerooge. Report with photo: https://www.seenotretter.de/aktuelles/seenotfaelle/seenotretter-und-lotsenversetzer-im-einsatz-fuer-segelyacht-vor-wangerooge

On Dec 29, 2016, the ship mechanics of the "Weser" fell ill and had to be medevaced. The lifeboat "Vormann Steffens" took the patient off in less than 360 meters visibility. The "Weser" was in the outer Jade and had urgently asked for medical help after the crew member had collapsed, but was conscious. Since helicopters could not fly because of the fog, the boat was the last option for quick help. The "Vormann Steffens" left Hooksiel's outer port at 2 a.m. and fought her way through the increasingly rough swell built up in the stormy past days. At 3 a.m. she reached the pilot boat two miles north of Wangerooge and went alongside. In the on-board hospital of the "Vormann Steffens", the 40-year-old sailor was cared for until the boat was back in the port of Hooksiel at 4:30 a.m. The patient was then handed over to the rescue service.