German research fleet

KDM research vessel Meteor

The German research fleet are the civilian research vessels of the German Marine Research Consortium brought together research institutions . You currently operate twelve German research vessels . These include the ice breaking Polarstern and the research ships Meteor and Maria S. Merian .

tasks

German research ships take on a variety of research tasks on the world's oceans. They represent scientific laboratories on the water. Many processes in the oceans can only be researched and documented from ships. Various disciplines are dealt with on the ships: Arctic, Antarctic, ice and polar research, geology, research into ocean currents, meteorology , shipbuilding , fishing, marine biology and underwater archeology.

The ships are operated by research institutes, universities or authorities. The largest scientific institutions that operate active ships are part of the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM) and operate their ships as one fleet: the German research fleet.

development

In the 2000s it became increasingly clear to the operating institutions that the ships they operate required modernization. In autumn 2010, the Science Council of the German Research Foundation (DFG) submitted proposals to the Federal Ministry of Research to replace the large German research vessels Poseidon (built in 1976), Meteor (built in 1985) and Polarstern (built in 1982). These suggestions were supported by the KDM. The main recommendation is to build a new ice-breaking ship by 2016 and to operate two polar research ships at the same time for a limited period in order to enable parallel year-round investigations in the Arctic and Antarctic .

The KDM takes a critical view of reducing the capacities of medium-sized research vessels, which are mainly used in the North and Baltic Seas and in shelf and marginal seas . Many socially relevant issues need to be researched in coastal waters, which is why ships are an important part of EU research strategies.

Renewal of the German research fleet from 2012

Keel laying of the sun in the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg on April 12, 2013

The decisive criteria for the decision to renew the fleet were the rising operating costs of the outdated ships, the risk of failure, increased safety and environmental standards and the possibility of using new research technology. The strategy presented by the federal government in 2012 incorporated most of the recommendations formulated by the Science Council in 2010. The first concrete project was the new Sun building, which went into service in 2014 .

The following other ships are to be replaced by new builds:

• The Polarstern from 1984 is to be replaced by a modern research icebreaker at a cost of 450 million euros. She is considered the most prestigious ship to ensure Germany's leading role in global marine and polar research.
• The Poseidon has been in service since 1976 and is also to be replaced by a new building for 110 million euros. Completion is planned for 2018 ^[obsolete] .
• As a large German research ship of the Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), the Meteor is also getting on in years. The successor ship is expected to cost 160 million euros; construction is scheduled to start ^{[out of date] in} 2019/20.

Environmental standards

In 2013, German environmental associations criticized the fact that, in addition to the new sun , the 15 other German research vessels (active or planned) do not have current environmental standards. The federal government called for the use of their 2013 published mobility and fuel strategy SCR catalysts and diesel particulate filters . However, no diesel particulate filter is installed on the federally owned ship.

literature

• The German research fleet: requirements in the next decades; Strategy paper / German Research Foundation , Senate Commission for Oceanography and German Marine Research Consortium , Editing Karin Lochte , Weinheim: Wiley-VCH-Verlag 2008, ISBN 978-3-527-32260-2 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Environmental associations: Federal government sends its own fleet of ships without exhaust technology to sea , press release by NABU , press portal, July 29, 2013
2. ↑ Ships of the Federal Government: Federal Government sends its own fleet of ships without exhaust technology to sea / environmental associations: role model function in terms of climate protection looks different , soot-free for the climate, July 29, 2013