"Sun" handed over to science

The world's most modern research vessel is now in the service of science. The "Sonne" was handed over to German marine research by politicians at the ICBM site in Wilhelmshaven, where it is also based. In December, it will set off on its first expedition to the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

It is a floating high-performance laboratory with an important mission. With its help, marine researchers from the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg and other German research institutes want to gain a better understanding of climate change, assess the consequences of human intervention in ecosystems and search for marine raw materials. The "Sonne", with its 600 square metres of working space and state-of-the-art technology, offers all the prerequisites for this.

In bright sunshine today, Federal Research Minister Prof Dr Johanna Wanka and Lower Saxony's Minister President Stephan Weil took delivery of the new research vessel from Meyer Werft and put it at the service of science. Wanka praised the "Sonne" as "a high-tech ship that fulfils the highest demands of modern marine research. It will be of great service to our society and to science." Weil praised the excellent reputation of the home institute ICBM and described the "Sonne" as a completely new prototype of a research vessel.

"The internationally recognised marine and biodiversity research at the University of Oldenburg will be further strengthened by the commissioning of the "Sonne"," said the acting President of the University, Prof. Dr Katharina Al-Shamery. This will enable the ICBM to further expand its interdisciplinary research in the Indo-Pacific region - for example in the fields of geochemistry, microbiology and marine technology. And, of course, it fills the university with pride and joy to provide the home institute of the "Sun".

The new deep-sea research vessel has a length of 116 metres, is a good 20 metres wide and is characterised, among other things, by its special energy efficiency. It was designed, constructed and built in accordance with the latest environmental standards. This is why the "Sonne" was awarded the "Blue Angel" eco-label. The construction costs, totalling a good 124 million euros, were mainly borne by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, with the remaining ten percent being shared by Lower Saxony and the other four coastal states.

In addition to 35 crew members, there is space for up to 40 scientists on board. As the home institute, the ICBM is fundamentally responsible for the scientific quality of the data collected on board, data management and the scientific measurement systems. The first expedition under its leadership is planned for 2016 - from the South Pacific island state of Fiji to Alaska.