Home run for the RV Maria S. Merian:
Research vessel sets off towards the Baltic Sea ice
for the "Deep Baltic" mission

24.02.2021 – It's time to go on board!

Finally! We have finished the Corona-related isolation in the quarantine hotel. All test results were negative, so that today we were able to board our expedition ship in Emden, the MARIA S. MERIAN. Nevertheless, for the next 8 days still applies: keep your distance and wear your mask.

At the ship, it was time to settle into our cabins, set up the laboratories, and unpack the containers that had been packed some time ago in Kiel and Rostock and transported to Emden – just the typical stuff that has to be done on the set-up day before departure. Along with numerous aluminium boxes, an ADCP – an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler – came to light. The device is to be deployed together with a mooring at the bottom of the Bothnian Sea and will document for one year the currents down there.

The welcome on board also included the obligatory safety briefing by the 1st officer including the fitting of a survival suit - and don't forget: At the end of the procedure, you should definitely press the air out of the voluminous suit, otherwise you might end up headfirst in the water in an emergency.

In the meantime evening has come and lights go on on board. Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. the cruise starts.

(Photos: IOW / B. Hentzsch, click to enlarge)