PRV Polarstern

Research vessel for marine exploration
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research – AWI

The Research Vessel Polarstern is a polar vessels of highest class able to operate in the pack ice zone: a double-walled steel hull and 20,000 horsepower allow her to easily break through 1.5-metre-thick ice; thicker ice can be overcome by ramming.

Further, the Polarstern is equipped for sustained operations at temperatures down to -50 degrees Celsius, and can even overwinter in the ice of the polar seas. Polarstern operates an average of 305 days a year, typically cruising in the Antarctic from November to March and pursuing research in the Arctic during the summer months.

It can operate with a crew of up to 44, plus up to 55 researchers and technicians, that can work in nine scientific labs. The ship normally has two helicopters and inflatable boats on board. An onboard computer system ensures that the countless pieces of scientific data from various projects are regularly recorded, saved and, if need be, forwarded. Even if commissioned in 1982, from 1999 to 2001, the ship was refitted to implement the latest technologies available. The ship is owned by the Alfred Wegener Institute that assure its oal and scientific management.