RV Maria S. Merian
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RV Maria S. Merian is Germanys most modern research vessel, named after the naturalist and illustrator Maria Sybilla Merian. By March 2006, Germany operates three other research vessels of its class, none of which are as well-equipped.
The Merian was financed by the government, and is assigned to the Institute for Baltic Sea Research at Warnemünde, with its home port Rostock. It is also available to several other German research institutes. Its tasks are arctic research, research of the gulf stream, and seabed research to a depth of 10 km. It is manned by a crew of 21, and can additionally accommodate 22 scientists, and is equipped with several laboratories. Furhermore it has room for 150 tons of additional scientific equipment in accessible containers, resulting in high flexibility with research assignments.
The ship is equipped with two azimuth thrusters, a lateral pump-jet, and satellite navigation, enabling it to automatedly maintain an exact position. It can operate without any polluting emissions for 48 hours, to conduct research in ecologically sensible areas. The Merian is capable of operating in near-polar regions and can deal with drift ice up to a thickness of 50 cm. It is 94.80 m long, 19.20 m wide, and its draft ist 6.50 m at max. Flank speed is 15 knots, the range is up to 7,500 nautical miles and 35 days.
Maria S. Merian's keel was laid in June 2003 at the Maritim Ltd. wharf in Gdańsk, Poland, which belongs to the German Kröger company. Construction was completed at Schacht-Audorf, Germany, and the ship was named and launched in July 2005. In September, course was set for intensive tests in the Bay of Biscay, and in February 2006, it was handed over to the Warnemünde-based institute. Its first research assignment took it to the Baltic Sea in early 2006.
