RV Sonne (2014)

Last updated
RV Sonne 2014 1.jpg
The RV Sonne in Kiel in 2014.
History
Flag of Germany (state).svg Germany
NameSonne
Owner Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany)
OperatorBriese Schiffahrts GmbH
Port of registry Flag of Germany (state).svg Germany
Builder Meyer Werft, Germany [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
Cost 124.4 million
Laid down12 April 2013
Launched5 April 2014
Christened11 July 2014
Acquired17 November 2014 [14]
Homeport Wilhelmshaven [15]
Identification
StatusActive as of 2018
General characteristics
Class and type Research vessel
Tonnage
  • 8,554  GT
  • 2,566  NT
Length118.42 m (388 ft 6 in) [16]
Beam20.6 m (67 ft 7 in) [16]
Draft6.4 m (21 ft 0 in) [16]
Depth9.8 m (32 ft 2 in) [16]
Installed power4 GenSets – Wärtsilä diesel engines each 1,620 kW / 1,572 ekW [16]
Propulsion2 diesel electric engines, each 2350 kW
Speed15.0 knots (27.8  km/h) [16]
Crew35 + 40 scientists [16]

RV Sonne (German for Sun) is a German deep ocean research vessel. The ship became available for science in December 2014 [17] and it operates mainly in the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. [16] She is registered in Wilhelmshaven and replaced its predecessor of the same name.

Contents

Career

An order worth 124.4 million for a new research ship to replace the older research ship Sonne was placed by the German federal ministry for education and research (90%) together with the coastal states Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Bremen and Hamburg (10%) in May 2011.

The construction took place in Meyer Werft in Papenburg and the Sonne left the dock in April 2014. It was christened in July 2014 and handed over in November 2014.

The Sonne is a multipurpose working platform for marine and related disciplines: physical and biological oceanography, marine geology, marine and atmospheric chemistry, marine geophysics and meteorology. [16] The ship operates mainly in the Pacific and the Indian Oceans and is owned by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It sails under the German Federal State Flag and its home institute is the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment.

Equipment

RV Sonne is equipped to cover a wide spectrum of ocean research. An A-frame crane at the stern has a lifting capacity of 30 t. This can be used for deploying submersibles and other heavy equipment. Four cranes with a lifting capacity of 10 t and three small cranes (2 x 2 t and 1 x 0.5 t) allow the transport of research material across the ship. A winch enables deploying devices to the ocean floor to 12,000 m of water depth.

Some of the tasks of the RV Sonne are to conduct seabed surveys (bathymetry) with different high-precision echo-sounding systems and seismic surveys. These systems can be disturbed by air bubbles created near the water surface and/or along the hull and swept down under the arrays. To avoid this, a special hull form was designed and tested in water basins. A dent runs along both sides of the hull to guide water and bubbles behind the echo sounding arrays installed within an integrated gondola near the bow. Furthermore, the outer hull surface was kept as smooth as possible to prevent production of air bubbles through cavitation processes. Further the entire ship is tuned to reduce interference from intrinsic sound and a deployable stabilization system with active fins minimizes unwanted self-motion of the ship.

For troubleshooting during the scientific expeditions, the ship is equipped with several workshops: a deck workshop (for heavy mechanical work), an electronic workshop, a machinery workshop (for fine mechanical work) and an electric workshop.

Up to 25 twenty-foot ISO containers can be stored on board (4 of them inside). There are 550 m² of scientific laboratories.

Related Research Articles

RV <i>Polarstern</i> German icebreaker and research vessel

RV Polarstern is a German research icebreaker of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany. Polarstern was built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel and Nobiskrug in Rendsburg, was commissioned in 1982, and is mainly used for research in the Arctic and Antarctica. The ship has a length of 118 metres and is a double-hulled icebreaker. She is operational at temperatures as low as −50 °C (−58 °F). Polarstern can break through ice 1.5 m thick at a speed of 5 knots. Thicker ice of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) can be broken by ramming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research</span>

The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research is located in Bremerhaven, Germany, and a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. It conducts research in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and the high and mid latitude oceans. Additional research topics are: North Sea research, marine biological monitoring, and technical marine developments. The institute was founded in 1980 and is named after meteorologist, climatologist, and geologist Alfred Wegener.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meyer Werft</span> German shipbuilder

Meyer Werft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. It was founded in 1795, as a builder of small wooden vessels. It has been owned and managed by the Meyer family for seven generations. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group, together with Neptun Werft in Rostock. In 2014, the company added the Turku shipyard in Finland to the group. Since then, it has also been a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types had been built at the yard. The Dock 2 Hall is the third largest shipbuilding hall and the fifth-largest usable volume in the world as of 2022. The shipyard is an anchor on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

RV <i>Knorr</i> Research vessel

RV Knorr was a research vessel formerly owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for the U.S. research community in coordination with and as a part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet. On March 14, 2016, Knorr was officially transferred to the Mexican Navy and renamed Rio Tecolutla. She was replaced at Woods Hole by the RV Neil Armstrong. Knorr is best known as the ship that supported researchers as they discovered the wreck of the RMS Titanic in 1985. R/V Knorr (AGOR-15) has traveled more than a million miles—the rough equivalent of two round trips to the Moon or forty trips around the Earth. Her sister ship is the RV Melville.

RV <i>Roger Revelle</i>

RV Roger Revelle is a Thomas G. Thompson-class oceanographic research ship operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography under charter agreement with Office of Naval Research as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet. The ship is named after Roger Randall Dougan Revelle, who was essential to the incorporation of Scripps into the University of California San Diego.

MV <i>Ocean Star Pacific</i> Cruise ship

MVNordic Prince was a cruise ship. She was built in 1971 by Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Finland for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and christened as MV Nordic Prince. She subsequently sailed under the names of Carousel, Aquamarine, and Arielle, prior to being renamed Ocean Star Pacific. IMO number: 7027411

USNS <i>Indomitable</i> Stalwart-class ocean surveillance ship

USNS Indomitable (T-AGOS-7) was a United States Navy Stalwart-class ocean surveillance ship in service from 1985 to 2002. From 2003 until 18 June 2014, she was in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the oceanographic research ship NOAAS McArthur II. As of 2018 it serves as a mother ship now named the Deep Submersible Support Vessel (DSSV) Pressure Drop for the crewed deep-ocean research submersible DSV Limiting Factor.

<i>Celebrity Equinox</i> Solstice-class cruise ship

Celebrity Equinox is a Solstice-class cruise ship built by Meyer Werft in Germany. Celebrity Equinox is the second of the five Solstice-class vessels, owned and operated by Celebrity Cruises. She is a sister ship of Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Silhouette, and the Celebrity Reflection. Construction officially started in September 2007. Celebrity Equinox left the shipyard in June 2009 and entered commercial service for Celebrity Cruises on July 31, 2009.

RV <i>Sonne</i>

RV Sonne is a former German fishing trawler converted into a research vessel by Schichau Unterweser AG, doing mostly geoscience-related work for a variety of commercial and scientific clients. She was registered in Bremen. In 2015 she was sold to the Argentine institute CONICET and was renamed ARA Austral (Q-21). A new geoscientific research ship, also called RV Sonne, replaced her role in Germany that same year.

<i>Disney Dream</i> Cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line

Disney Dream is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, which is part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Experiences division. She is the third ship of the overall fleet and the first of the Dream class, and was followed by a sister ship, the Disney Fantasy.

RV <i>Meteor</i> (1986)

The RV Meteor is a multidisciplinary research vessel operating mainly on the high sea. She is owned by the German state represented by its Federal Ministry of Education and Research and registered in Hamburg.

RV <i>Sally Ride</i>

RV Sally Ride (AGOR-28) is a Neil Armstrong-class research vessel owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She was launched in 2014 and put into service in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angelika Brandt</span> German deep-sea biologist

Angelika Brandt is the world leader in Antarctic deep-sea biodiversity and has developed, organised and led several oceanographic expeditions to Antarctica, notably the series of ANDEEP cruises, which have contributed significantly to Antarctica and deep-sea biology. Brandt was the senior scientist of ANDEEP which was devoted entirely to benthic research in the Antarctic abyss.

<i>Norwegian Encore</i> Ship of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)

Norwegian Encore is a Breakaway Plus-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). She is the fourth Breakaway Plus-class ship in the fleet, following sister ships Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Escape, and Norwegian Joy, and debuted in November 2019.

RV <i>Corella</i>

RV Corella (LT767) was a fisheries research vessel that was operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food - Directorate of Fisheries, now known as the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) between 1967 and 1983.

World-class cruise ship Class of cruise ships under construction for MSC Cruises

The World class is a class of cruise ships being built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique of France for MSC Cruises. There are four vessels planned, with the lead vessel, MSC World Europa, delivered in 2022.

MS <i>Arvia</i> Cruise ships

MS Arvia is an Excellence-class cruise ship in service for P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. The keel was laid on 15 February 2022. The ship was built by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in Papenburg and left the shipyard on 5 November 2022. She was delivered on 9 December 2022 to P&O Cruises. Construction officially started in February 2021.

<i>Silver Nova</i> Ship built in 2023

Silver Nova is a luxury cruise ship, the 12th ship in service with Silversea Cruises. She was ordered in 2018 and completed in 2023. Nova is the first ship in the company's new Evolution-class, and designed with the intent of environmentally friendly cruising. It is the first hybrid luxury cruise ship, powered by a combination of liquefied natural gas (LNG), fuel cell system, and batteries, enabling it to be emissions free when in port. The ship was built at a Meyer Werft in Germany, featuring a unique asymmetrical design.

References

  1. https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/technik/forschungsschiff-sonne-verlaesst-bauhalle-a-962732.html
  2. https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/84d97dd6-0001-0004-0000-000000679923_w1600_r1.3654984069185252_fpx66.61_fpy44.98.webp
  3. https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/83b4b9cf-0001-0004-0000-000000679927_w1600_r1.467710371819961_fpx52.44_fpy44.97.webp
  4. https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/2208ccc0-0001-0004-0000-000000584212_w1600_r1.3333333333333333_fpx65.24_fpy54.98.webp
  5. https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/7b6b1587-0001-0004-0000-000000220705_w1600_r1.3333333333333333_fpx63.75_fpy55.01.webp
  6. https://www.ingenieur.de/technik/fachbereiche/verkehr/neues-forschungsschiff-sonne-baudock-verlassen/
  7. https://www.ingenieur.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2014/5519_Das-Forschungsschiff-Sonne-zwei-Tage-vor-der-Fertigstellung..jpg
  8. https://www.ingenieur.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2014/5521_Forschungsschiff-Sonne-verlaesst-Baudock.jpg
  9. https://www.ingenieur.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2014/5520_Alte-Sonne-bei-ihrer-210.-Expedition-vor-der-Kueste-Chiles.jpg
  10. https://www.meyerwerft.de/de/presse/presse_detail/jahresrueckblick_2013.jsp
  11. https://www.schiffundhafen.de/nachrichten/schiffbau/detail/forschungsschiff-sonne-ausgedockt.html
  12. https://www.welt.de/wissenschaft/article126611649/Eine-neue-Sonne-fuer-die-Tiefsee.html
  13. https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/niedersachsen/papenburg-arbeiten-forschungsschiff-sonne-liegen-plan-3372027.html
  14. "Übergabe des Forschungsschiffes "Sonne"". Meyerwerft.de. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  15. "The new RV Sonne". German Marine Research Consortium. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 von Bröckel, Klaus (2013). "The New German Deep Sea Research Vessel "Sonne"" (PDF). Hydrographische Nachrichten (95).
  17. "Cruise schedule and Equipment plan". Control Station German Research Vessels. Retrieved 19 November 2014.