Federal Research Minister Johanna Wanka, together with representatives of the State of Lower Saxony and the Meyer shipyard, held the keel laying of the new deep-sea research vessel SONNE.
The first section of the 116 meter long ship was launched in the dock. The ship will be handed over in January 2015, and it will be able to accommodate 40 researchers on board.
Main areas of work of the new deep-sea research vessel will be the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The SONNE will help answer scientifically and socially relevant research questions, especially in terms of climate change, the supply of marine resources and the consequences of intervention in ecosystems.
The new research vessel SONNE, characterized by high energy efficiency, will replace its 44 year old predecessor.
The special construction of this vessel reflects the high level of German shipbuilding and helps secure the jobs at the Meyer shipyard.
The total construction project of this research vessel will amount to around € 124.4 million which will be jointly provided by the federal government (90 percent) and the coastal states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Bremen (10 percent).
SONNE will have its home port in Wilhelmshaven.
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff, April 15, 2013; Image: Meyer Werft