On 1 April, Prof. Dr Ralf Rabus takes over the management of the institute. He replaces Prof Dr Heinz Wilkes, who remains in the ICBM management team as Deputy Director; Prof Dr Thorsten Dittmar leaves the Board of Directors and Prof Dr Katharina Pahnke takes over as further Deputy Director.

1 April: Prof. Dr. Heinz Wilkes, University lecturer for organic geochemistry, is the new head of the Institute. He replaces Prof. Dr. Thorsten Dittmar, who still forms part of the governing body as a deputy director, together with Prof. Dr. Ralf Rabus, who joined in recently.

Prof. Dr. Thorsten Dittmar assumes the leadership of ICBM on 1 April. He replaces Prof. Dr. Oliver Zielinski as a director, who as a deputy director completes, together with Prof. Dr. Heinz Wilkes, the new directorate of the institute.

On  21 November, the budget committee  of the Lower Saxony Landtag agrees to the erection of a new institute building for the Center for Marine Sensors (ZfMarS) at the Wilhelmshaven site of ICBM.

May: Official Foundation of Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIfMB).

Prof. Dr. Oliver Zielinski becomes the new director of the institute by rotation on 1 April. He replaces Prof. Dr. Bernd Blasius, who completes as a deputy director, along with Prof. Dr. Thorsten Dittmar, the directorate of the ICBM.

In January the Center for Marine Sensors (ZfMarS) starts working with an initial staff from the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg

November: The ICBM receives approval to establish a centre for marine sensor technology by 2020, which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund ERDF. First research cruise of the research vessel SONNE under Oldenburg leadership.

In July, the former director of the ICBM, Prof Dr Jürgen Rullkötter, presents his book on the history of the institute "From cuckoo's egg to lighthouse" in Oldenburg.

The University of Oldenburg and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven receive approval to establish a new Helmholtz Centre for Functional Marine Biodiversity.  The lead applicants are Prof Dr Thomas Brey (AWI) and Prof Dr Helmut Hillebrand (ICBM), who will also be the future director of the institute.

The ICBM organised a parliamentary evening in the New Town Hall in Hanover (Capital of Lower Saxony) in February.

Commissioning of the new deep-sea research vessel SONNE in Wilhelmshaven; the Jade city becomes home port, the ICBM home institute.

The research group BioGeoChemistry of the Wadden Sea Watts receives the first North German Science Award.

Establishment of the Collaborative Research Centre TRR 51 Roseobacter in cooperation with the TU Braunschweig and the University of Göttingen under the leadership of the University of Oldenburg with four participating ICBM working groups. Project spokesperson: Prof Dr Meinhard Simon, ICBM.

Integration of the Terramare Research Centre into the University of Oldenburg on 1 January under the umbrella of the ICBM.

The time series station of the "BioGeoChemistry of the Wadden Sea" research group, which is supervised by the ICBM, is being set up near the south-western tip of Spiekeroog.

The interdisciplinary research group "BioGeoChemistry of the Wadden Sea" is being set up with financial support from the German Research Foundation. The ICBM, the Marine Physics Group at the University of Oldenburg, the Senckenberg Research Institute and the Terramare Research Centre are involved. During the project, individual scientists change jobs. As a result, further institutions are added.

Approval of the ICBM as a central institution of the University of Oldenburg.