German research ships end refits

The reports said that during the ship’s eight-month long yard stay in Bremerhaven, which ended in March, the ship’s two SEP-2 2050kW Schottel pods were dismantled, overhauled by Schottel and re-installed in the 94.8m long ship. They quoted the German Research Ministry as saying the latest damage had cost about €2.3 million.

Captain Niels Jakobi at the German Research Ship Control Centre at the University of Hamburg told The Motorship new swivel bearings had been manufactured and installed at the same time.

“The manufacture of the special bearings was very time-consuming. Such bearings are custom-made products”, he explained.

Captain Jakobi said the yard time had however also been utilised to carry out other work so the ship would not need to dock again for some time. The stay was spent mainly at GDD yard Motorenwerke Bremerhaven (MWB) and latterly in the Kaiserdock 11 of partner yard Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven.

Maria S Merian went into the yard last July for the latest in a series of yard visits prompted mainly by pod problems. She was completed in 2006 and is, apart from the new Sonne, Germany’s youngest research ship.

Another government research ship, the 54,6m Heincke, has meanwhile also left MWB after completion of a full engine swap. The ship’s three old KHD-MWM TDB-604 L 6 main engines were replaced with D 3842 630kW units from MAN.