[en] In the light of the constantly increasing use of waterways, the associated risk of maritime accidents and accidental or deliberate discharge of pollutants at sea and in coastal areas, it is necessary to adopt effective pollution prevention and combating measures coordinated at national and international level so as to guarantee the safety of shipping and maintain the integrity of the maritime environment. These measures must be equally effective for accidents as for discharges of crude oil and petroleum products, chemicals, etc. so that rapid expert action can be taken in order to minimize the effects on shipping safety and on the maritime and coastal environment and also to limit consequent financial costs. This study presents a concept for increasing the effectiveness of the authorities and special agencies of the German Federal Government and coastal states which are responsible for these tasks (in particular the Operations Management Group (ELG) and the North Sea/Baltic sea Emergency Staffs (EmStaffs)) by implementing a open-quotes Computer-Based Maritime Accident Management Systemclose quotes (REMUS). The REMUS concept comprises the following two main functions for effective maritime accident management: Acquisition, storage and intelligent availability of the largest possible quantity of relevant data for accident prevention. Provision of automatic decision support, adapted to the individual situation, for use by the authorities involved during the operational phase. REMUS provides support for the maritime emergency experts in collecting data and information and generates proposals for measures to be initiated according to the prevailing circumstances. REMUS integrates perfectly, both organizationally and technically, with currently employed methods and procedures for pollution prevention