Welle, Historical steamboat in Mitte, Germany

The Welle is a 37.40-metre steam vessel built in 1915 at the Atlas-Werke in Bremen, now moored in the Neuer Hafen by the Deutsches Auswandererhaus. Its hull, 7.20 metres wide with a 2.90-metre draft, was largely gutted during a 1975 conversion, and the original piston engines are gone; one restored engine has been reinstalled.

Built in 1915 at the Atlas-Werke in Bremen for the Bauamt für die Unterweserkorrektion, the Welle served as a survey vessel, tug and auxiliary icebreaker on the Weser. From 1921 it belonged to the Reich Ministry of Transport and also supplied lighthouses at the Weser estuary. After wartime use by the Kriegsmarine, it was decommissioned on 17 January 1975 and later converted into a restaurant ship.

The ship's name, Welle, means "wave" in German. Since 1975 it has been moored at the Schlachte promenade, where it served as a variety and restaurant ship until it sank there in 1994. Today the restored vessel is kept as a traditional ship by the association Dampfer "Welle" and lies in the Neuer Hafen near the German Emigration Center.

The Welle lies in the Neuen Hafen, next to the Deutsches Auswandererhaus in Bremerhaven, not in Bremen's city centre. It is a restored museum ship kept by the Verein Dampfer "Welle"; visits depend on the association, so check opening times before travelling. The ship was lifted onto the quay at the Hafenkanal in January 2001 for restoration and returned to the water in October 2009.

The two original piston steam engines no longer exist: one replacement machine was bought, restored and reinstalled by the support association, and a rebuild of the second main engine is only being considered. The ship also served as a survey vessel, tug and auxiliary icebreaker on the Weser, and from 1921 ran supply trips to the lighthouses at the Weser mouth.