RV Polarstern

History
Germany
Name	Polarstern
Namesake	Pole star
Owner	Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung[1]
Operator	Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
Port of registry	Bremerhaven, Germany
Route	Arctic and Antarctica
Ordered	28 August 1980[1]
Builder	Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft at Kiel and the Nobiskrug at Rendsburg
Yard number	707[1]
Laid down	22 September 1981[1]
Launched	6 January 1982[1]
Completed	8 December 1982[1]
Identification	Call sign: DBLK IMO number: 8013132 MMSI number: 211202460 DNV ID: G16829
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Type	Icebreaker, research vessel
Tonnage	12,614 GT[1]
Displacement	17,300 tonnes
Length	117.91 m (386 ft 10 in)
Beam	25 m (82 ft 0 in)[1]
Draught	10.7 m (35 ft 1 in)[1]
Installed power	Four diesel engines, 14,120 kW (18,940 hp)[2]
Speed	15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)[2]
Capacity	124 persons
Crew	44

RV Polarstern (meaning pole star) 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 (387 feet) 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 (4 ft 11 in) thick at a speed of 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). Thicker ice of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) can be broken by ramming.