The MARIA S. MERIAN stands out from other research vessels because of her ability to operate along the edge of the ice sheets. Since she was put into operation on 9 February 2006, she has been enabling researchers to embark on cruises not only in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, but also in the subpolar Norwegian Sea. The research vessel was named after Maria Sibylla Merian, the founder of entomology in Germany and the first woman to sail overseas to conduct large-scale research expeditions at the end of the seventeenth century.
