RV Sonne
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | RV Sonne |
| Operator: | RF Forschungsschiffahrt GmbH |
| Port of registry: |
 Bremen, Germany |
| Route: | Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean |
| Builder: | Rickmers Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany |
| Laid down: | August 1968 |
| Identification: |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Research vessel |
| Displacement: | 4,952 Tonnes |
| Length: | 97.61 m (320 ft 3 in) |
| Beam: | 14.20 m (46 ft 7 in) |
| Draught: | 6.80 m (22 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power: |
|
| Propulsion: | Diesel-electrical system |
| Speed: | 12.0 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Crew: | 25 + 25 scientists |
The RV Sonne (German for 'Sun') is a former fishing trawler converted into a research vessel, doing mostly geoscience-related work for a variety of commercial and scientific clients. She is registered in Bremen.[1] She will be replaced by RV Sonne (2014).
Career
Rickmers Werft built Sonne in 1969 as a stern trawler and delivered her to Hochseefischerei Nordstern. From her homeport of Bremerhaven she operated mainly in the waters around Iceland, Greenland and Labrador.
Sonne was converted for use in a scientific exploration role by Schichau Unterweser AG in 1977 and by Rickmers Werft in 1978. In 1991 Schichau-Seebeck-Werft lengthened and modernized her.[1]
An order worth €124.4 million for a new geoscientific research ship was placed by the German federal ministry for education and research (90%) together with the costal states Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Bremen and Hamburg (10%) in May 2011. The new ship, also called Sonne was built in Meyer Werft in Papenburg, and will replace the current ship in 2015.[2] Launch took place on 5 April 2014.[3]
The last cruise of RV Sonne took place in August 2014, after that she was retired from the scientific use.
Argentine service
She was sold to the Argentinian institute CONICET for € 5.150.000 and she arrived in the Argentine Navy Naval base Mar del Plata, in February 2015. In June she was renamed ARA Austral. Austral is operated by a Navy crew, on behalf of the CONICET.
In popular culture
Sonne appears in Frank Schätzing's novel The Swarm in connection with methane measurements off the Norwegian coast.[4]
See also
- RV Sonne (2014) - the successor of RV Sonne
References
Notes
- 1 2 "RV Sonne - datasheet in English language" (PDF, 1.6 MB). www.rf-bremen.com. RF Forschungsschiffahrt GmbH. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ↑ Nestler, Ralf (31 May 2011). "Sonnenaufgang für die Meeresforscher" [Sunrise for marine researchers]. www.tagesspiegel.de (in German). Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ↑ "Das neue Forschungsschiff "Sonne" verlässt das Baudock I der MEYER WERFT" (in German). Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ↑ Frank Schätzing. The Swarm. p. Chapter "April 22nd".
External links
- Sonne homepage (German)
- RF Forschungsschiffahrt (homepage of the shipping company operating the Sonne)
- Research Vessel Sonne (by German Marine Research Consortium)
- Cruise reports Sonne (list of all cruises with links to cruise reports and data)