New foundation: Federal government supports maritime heritage with 30 million euros
Initially, only one million euros was earmarked for the establishment of the new foundation. Now the federal government is going significantly further: on 14 November, the Budget Committee agreed on a total of 30 million euros. This is to be distributed over three years to the German Maritime Heritage Foundation (DSME). This was announced by the Maritim Hamburg Foundation with. Together with the Federal Ministry of Transport, it is responsible for setting up the foundation.
German Maritime Heritage Foundation: "A milestone"
The foundation is intended to preserve the national maritime heritage, explains the board of the Maritime Hamburg Foundation: "This is a milestone for the many thousands of volunteers who are active on board the traditional ships and other maritime objects along the German coasts." The funding gives those affected a reliable perspective. This is important because much of the work is done on a voluntary basis, they say.
The original draft budget envisaged significantly less. Five million euros were planned for traditional shipping - for example for new registrations or technical modifications. An additional one million euros was earmarked for the preservation of historic maritime objects. This was to be used, for example, to preserve historic pleasure craft, traditional ships or historic harbour facilities and make them accessible to the public. This part will now be significantly expanded with the new decision.
More about traditional ships:
Subsidies possible soon
According to the Hamburg Maritime Foundation, the increase from one million to thirty million euros is due in part to the commitment of Bremen SPD MP Uwe Schmidt. Schmidt, a member of the Budget Committee, was actively involved in the negotiations.
As soon as the foundation begins its work, interested parties can submit funding applications. However, it is not yet clear exactly when this will be.
