View source for RV Maria S. Merian

{{short description|German research vessel}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=RV Maria Merian MOSAiC.jpg
|Ship caption=Departing [[Isfjorden (Svalbard)]], in June 2020 during [[MOSAiC Expedition]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship name='''RV ''Maria S. Merian''''' 
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator=[[Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research]] 
|Ship registry={{flagicon|Germany|civil}} [[Rostock]], [[Germany]]
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=*Maritim Ltd., [[Gdańsk]], Poland
*Kröger Werft, [[Schacht-Audorf]], Germany
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|Ship laid down=June 2003
|Ship launched=July 2005
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|Ship christened=26 July 2005<ref name=IOWoverview>{{cite web |url=http://www.io-warnemuende.de/miscell/merian/ |title=Das neue Eisrandforschungsschiff 'Maria S. Merian' |language=German |publisher=Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research |date=22 August 2006 |accessdate=6 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123231949/http://www.io-warnemuende.de/miscell/merian/ |archivedate=23 January 2009 }}</ref>
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|Ship in service=9 February 2006<ref name=IOWoverview/>
|Ship out of service=
|Ship identification=*{{IMO Number|9274197}}<ref name="vs">{{cite web|url=http://www.vesseltracker.com/en/Ships/Maria-S.-Merian-9274197.html |title=Maria S. Merian (IMO: 9274197)  |work= vesseltracker.com |accessdate=6 November 2011}}</ref>
*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: DBBT<ref name="vs"/>
*{{MMSI Number|211753000}}<ref name="vs"/>
|Ship fate=
|Ship status=Active
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Research vessel]]
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= {{convert|94.80|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=IOWdata>{{cite web|url=http://www2008.io-warnemuende.de/miscell/merian/daten.html |title=Das neue Eisrandforschungsschiff 'Maria S. Merian' – Das Datenblatt|language=German |publisher=Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research |date=16 January 2003 |accessdate=6 November 2011}}</ref>
|Ship beam={{convert|19.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draft={{convert|6.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
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|Ship ice class=+ 100 A5 E3<ref name=IOWdata/>
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|Ship propulsion=2 × 1,900 kW pod, 1 × 1,600 kW jet<ref name=IOWdata/>
|Ship speed={{convert|15.0|kn|km/h|lk=on}}
|Ship capacity=1,345 tonnes
|Ship crew=24 crew + 22 scientists<ref name=IOWdata/>
|Ship notes=
|Ship sensors=[[Echo sounding|Multi-beam echo sounder]], sub-bottom-profiler, [[Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler|ADCP]], meteorological sensors<ref name=IOWdata/>
}}
|}
[[image:FS Maria S Merian Heck Kiel2007.jpg|thumb|right|300px|RV ''Maria S. Merian'']]

[[File:Maria S Merian Mindelo.JPG|thumb|right|300px|RV ''Maria S. Merian'' in the harbour of Mindelo, Cape Verde.]]

RV '''''Maria S. Merian''''' is [[Germany]]'s second most modern [[research vessel]], named after the [[naturalist]] and illustrator [[Maria Sybilla Merian]]. As of March 2006, Germany operates three other research vessels of its class, none of which is as well-equipped.

The Merian was financed by the German government and is assigned to the [[Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research]] at [[Warnemünde]], with [[Rostock]] as its home port. It is also available to several other German research institutes. Its tasks are [[Arctic]] research, research on the [[Gulf Stream]], and [[seabed]] research to a depth of 10&nbsp;km. It is crewed by a complement of 21, and can additionally accommodate 22 scientists.  The vessel is equipped with several laboratories. It has room for 150 tonnes of additional scientific equipment in accessible containers, providing flexibility in research assignments.<ref name=IOWdata/>

The ship is equipped with two [[azimuth thruster]]s, a lateral [[pump-jet]], and [[satellite navigation]], enabling it to automatically maintain an exact position. It can operate without any polluting [[exhaust gas|emission]]s for 48 hours (apart from the normal engine exhaust), allowing it to conduct research in ecologically sensitive areas. The Merian is capable of operating in [[polar region|near-polar region]]s and can handle [[drift ice]] up to a thickness of 80&nbsp;cm. It is 94.80 m long, 19.20 m wide, and has a maximum [[draft (hull)|draft]] of 6.50 m. [[Flank speed]] is {{convert|15|kn|km/h}}, and range is up to {{convert|7500|nmi|km}} and 35 days.<ref name=IOWdata/>

The Merian's [[keel]] was laid in June 2003 at the ''Maritim Ltd.'' wharf in [[Gdańsk]], Poland, which belongs to the German [[Kröger Werft]] company. Construction was completed at [[Schacht-Audorf]], Germany, and the ship was [[Ship naming and launching|named and launched]] in July 2005. The vessel set course for intensive tests in the [[Bay of Biscay]] in September 2005, and in February 2006 it was handed over to the [[Warnemünde]]-based institute.<ref name=IOWoverview/> Its first research assignment took it to the [[Baltic Sea]] in early 2006.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commonscat-inline|IMO 9274197}}
*[http://www.ldf.uni-hamburg.de/de/merian.html Institute for Maritime Research, Hamburg] {{in lang|de}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090123231949/http://www.io-warnemuende.de/miscell/merian/ Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Rostock] {{in lang|de}}
*[http://www.pangaea.de/PHP/CruiseReports.php?b=Merian Cruise reports Maria S. Merian] (list of all cruises with links to cruise reports and data)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria S. Merian}}
[[Category:Research vessels of Germany]]
[[Category:Ships built in Gdańsk]]
[[Category:Ships built in Rendsburg]]
[[Category:2005 ships]]