Two German trade bodies become one

Anyone in Germany who builds, sells, services or surveys boats used to belong to one of two trade bodies. The Bundesverband Wassersportwirtschaft, the federal association for the water sports trade, covered dealers, equipment and services. The Deutsche Boots- und Schiffbauer-Verband, the German boat and shipbuilders association, covered yards and craft businesses. Neither exists any more. They have merged into the Verband Maritime Wirtschaft Deutschland, VMWD for short.

Around 700 companies belong to it, from a four person workshop to a yard that ships internationally. The first president is Henning Mittelmann, who owns a yard in Kappeln on the Schlei. Sailing, motorboating, canoeing, surfing, diving, charter and equipment all sit under the same roof, and so, importantly for an insurer, do the marine surveyors.

In the summer of 2026 the merger also arrived in the systems. The records of both predecessor bodies now run in one database, and members maintain their own company data through a member portal. That sounds like administration, and it is exactly the point at which a merger either works or leaves two card indexes running side by side.

For readers outside Germany the practical value is simple. One body now speaks for the German market in Brussels and in the international federations. One directory now lists the German yards, dealers and surveyors an owner might need. That matters most to anyone who buys, lays up or repairs a boat in Germany without living there.