The Mercator living and working ship was built at the Berlin yacht yard in Eisenhüttenstadt . It was created as Project 412 on the basis of the push houseboat SWS 1613 and was commissioned in 1983. The ship did not have its own propulsion system. A diesel generator with an apparent power of 34.5 kVA was used for the power supply . For the surveying work, the ship had a survey evaluation room, a workshop room and a control center. It was equipped with a lift for a survey boat and a davit for launching an inflatable boat. The ship was named after the cartographer Gerhard Mercator .
The Bessel survey launch was also built at the Berlin yacht yard. It was created as Project 407-SHD based on the motor launch 13, which is mainly used by the military. The launch was put into service in 1981. It was powered by a diesel engine with an output of 103 kW . In addition, it had two alternators with 2.4 kW each. For the surveying tasks it was equipped with an echo sounder , a position determination system and a distance measuring device. The ship was named after the geodesist Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel .
At the end of November 2002, the surveying unit, which had become uneconomical due to high repair and maintenance costs, was decommissioned and replaced by the new Capella building, which was commissioned on January 23, 2004 . The Mercator has covered around 3,355 nautical miles in tow during her service life . The Bessel measured plumb lines around 54,500 nautical miles . When it was decommissioned, the surveying unit was the oldest unit in the fleet of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency.
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