Radarpatent
The Radarpatent is a German inland navigation qualification historically required for the use of radar in inland waterway navigation. Under current German inland navigation personnel law, the Radarpatent continues to be recognized as a grandfathered qualification, while new qualifications are issued as a besondere Berechtigung für Radar (special authorization for radar).[1][2]
Legal basis
The current legal framework is provided by the German Binnenschiffspersonalverordnung (BinSchPersV) and the inland navigation traffic regulations. These rules no longer provide for the routine issuance of a Radarpatent as such, but instead for a special authorization for radar. Older radar patents remain valid under transitional provisions.[3][2]
According to section 131 of the BinSchPersV, radar patents and radar certificates covered by the transitional rules remain valid for radar navigation until 17 January 2032. The same provision allows their conversion into a special authorization for radar.[2]
Function
The Radarpatent served as proof that its holder was qualified to conduct inland navigation using radar. Inland navigation traffic regulations provide that a vessel may use radar only if a person is on board who holds either a certificate of competence with the entry for a special authorization for radar, an equivalent proof recognized under the BinSchPersV, or a radar patent that continues to remain valid under the transitional rules.[4]
Comparable provisions also apply on the Moselle, where radar navigation requires a person holding the corresponding radar authorization under the personnel rules of the riparian states.[5]
Current status
In current administrative practice, new applicants acquire not a Radarpatent but a besondere Berechtigung für Radar. ELWIS states that a vessel operator wishing to navigate by radar requires, in addition to the underlying certificate of competence, a radar authorization. Application materials for this authorization include proof of identity, a vessel operator's licence or sport boat licence, and a radio certificate.[1][6]
The Radarpatent therefore survives mainly as a legacy qualification that continues to be accepted under transitional law rather than as the standard form of new certification.[2]
Relation to vessel operation
The radar qualification is supplementary and does not replace the underlying licence required for the vessel or route. The inland navigation regulations require both a valid qualification for the type of vessel and, for radar navigation, the additional radar authorization or a grandfathered radar patent.[4][5]
The obligation to carry proof of the radar qualification on board is also reflected in the inland navigation regulations on documents to be carried on vessels.[7]
Position in the German certification system
The Radarpatent occupies a specialized position within the German inland navigation qualification system. It is not a general boat licence such as the Sportbootführerschein Binnen, but an additional qualification linked specifically to radar navigation.
In the modern system, its role has largely been taken over by the besondere Berechtigung für Radar, while older radar patents continue to be recognized during the transitional period laid down in the BinSchPersV.[1][2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Besondere Berechtigung für Radar". ELWIS – Elektronisches Wasserstraßen-Informationssystem. Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "§ 131 Übergangsvorschriften zu Radarpatenten und Radarbescheinigungen". ELWIS – Elektronisches Wasserstraßen-Informationssystem. Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Binnenschiffspersonalverordnung (BinSchPersV)" (PDF). ELWIS – Elektronisches Wasserstraßen-Informationssystem. Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "§ 4.06 Radar". ELWIS – Elektronisches Wasserstraßen-Informationssystem. Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "§ 6.32 Mit Radar fahrende Fahrzeuge". ELWIS – Elektronisches Wasserstraßen-Informationssystem. Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "Anträge Schiffsführerzeugnisse". ELWIS – Elektronisches Wasserstraßen-Informationssystem. Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
- ↑ "§ 1.10 Mitführen von Urkunden und sonstigen Unterlagen". ELWIS – Elektronisches Wasserstraßen-Informationssystem. Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes. Retrieved 2026-03-26.
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