Overview:

 Contact persons for travels to the Dallmann Laboratory

Recommmendations for travels on cruise ships

Important Agencies

Forms and Documents

General Information and advice for the logistic preparation and execution of research projects at the Dallmann Station Annex of the Jubany base on King George Island

1. The Dallmann Laboratory

2. Contact persons for application, preparation and execution

3. Travel preparation

4. Polar equipment (clothing)

5. Declaration of indemnity

6. Medical examination

7. Environmental Protection Training and approval

8. Visa- / Passport formalities

9. Journey / Flight Booking

10. Freight delivery

• 10.1. Freight packaging

• 10.2. Labels and documents for freight handling

• 10.3. Customs Clearance

• 10.4. Dangerous Goods

11. Final remarks

1. The Dallmann Laboratory

You are planning to stay at the Dallmann Laboratory for research purposes or have already been given permission for your stay by the scientific coordinator of the Alfred Wegener Institute and now receive the possibility to begin or continue your research directly on site in the Antarctic. We are providing you with the following background information with the request to bear in mind the included advice.

The laboratory of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research on King George Island in the Antarctic is named after the German whaling specialist Eduard Dallmann (1830 – 1896) and was officially inaugurated on 19 January 1994. The laboratory is not an independent station but part of the Argentinean Jubany Station. This cooperation reduces costs and environmental stress compared to an autarkic station. It is the first research facility operated by two countries in the Antarctic and offers work possibilities and a place to live to twelve biologists, geologists and geographers during the southern summer. 

The Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven and the Instituto Antártico Argentino in Buenos Aires share responsibility for the Dallmann Laboratory. The project is part of the scientific technical cooperation between Argentina and Germany and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Dirección Nacional del Antártico in Buenos Aires.
What is new about the cooperation at the Dallmann Laboratory is the complete contractual integration of the partners. The laboratory is manned with equal representation of the two partners. Work plans, scientific experiments, data analysis and publications are made together and part of the lively exchange between the AWI and the IAA. Most of the projects are carried out together by partners from Germany and Argentina, but the laboratory is also open to scientists of other nationalities and to individual projects.

The Netherlands occupy a special place among the other nations. The NWO (Netherlands organization for scientific research) has contributed significantly to the expansion of the station by providing material for a new sewerage plant, a new diving station and other installations.

You are a guest at a research station where scientists of different nationalities live and work together. Please be aware of this opportunity and special responsibility. Act as a guest in every respect, accept and respect the different modes of behavior and mentalities. Be cooperative in every situation and thereby contribute to a good work climate among colleagues. Help to create ideal working and living conditions for you and your colleagues with your own constructive, companionate and prudent attitude.

2. Contact persons for application, preparation and execution

Your contact persons with their fields of activity, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses are listed here.
The application for a stay is made one year prior to the beginning of the summer season during which the project is planned to be executed. Deadline is 30 September. Application forms are held ready by the scientific coordinator of the Dallmann Laboratory and sent out on demand. After application the documents are checked and submitted to the Advisory Board which sets up a preliminary schedule for the use of the laboratory. Preliminary confirmations for submission at the DFG or other organizations are dispatched to the applicants in November. The final confirmation and allocation of places is made after approval of the sponsors in June prior to the respective season.

3. Travel preparation

With the final approval of your project by the AWI you will receive an invitation for an informal meeting with all participants of the upcoming campaign and members of the AWI Logistics department (date: beginning of July). Moreover, you will receive a Personal Questionnaire and other documents. Please answer all questions in the questionnaire. It is essential that you specify the sponsor of your expedition – this also applies for repeated participation. The questionnaire contains all necessary data for the logistic planning and execution of your stay. It has to be sent back to the AWI in due time, the deadline can be found on the schedule you will also receive. By returning the questionnaire you will be listed as a potential expedition participant. The questionnaire is also needed to book flights and settle travel costs. Please specify the address your flight tickets shall be sent to.

4. Polar equipment (clothing)

Polar equipment is provided by the AWI. Please fill in your equipment list and submit it to the AWI Logistics department. Only afterwards can you make an appointment for outfitting with the AWI clothing store. Your personal equipment can be sent to Jubany with the general freight transport organized by the AWI. Please bear in mind that duffle bags with polar clothing are not automatically added to your freight or a container. The expedition participants or an appointee of the group have to ensure that the duffle bags are all labeled and added to the respective expedition freight. If no general freight transport has been scheduled, the expedition participants have to arrange for a transport themselves.
Clothing is lent free of charge and is expected to be handled with care. If clothing is lost, a written statement giving the reasons and kind of loss has to be submitted. The AWI reserves the right to claim for damages in case of improper use of the equipment. The participants are responsible for the return of the complete set of equipment to the stocks. If your equipment is sent back with a consolidated transport, please hand over your equipment only against signature by the respective scientific coordinator of the Dallmann Laboratory.

5. Declaration of indemnity

Expedition participants who are not employed by the AWI have to submit a declaration of indemnity. Your insurance coverage will not be affected by this declaration as you are covered by insurance through your employer against disease consequences accidents etc.
Moreover, you are free to effect a private accident insurance for the duration of your expedition. The AWI enables you to effect an insurance with the Gerling Group for specific risks of polar regions on variable conditions.


6. Medical examination

Each expedition participant is required to undergo a comprehensive medical examination before the expedition starts. This examination can be arranged for and carried out by the general practitioner in the region of origin or the company medical officer of the AWI. In any case, the provided questionnaires are to be used and to be submitted to the AWI medial office. Participants are only allowed to participate in the expedition if the AWI medical office has confirmed their state of health. Please send your medical documents and respective questionnaires (for reasons of confidentiality) in a second envelope to the Logistics department. The documents will be forwarded unopened to the medical office.

7. Environmental Protection Training and approval

In compliance with the implementation law of September 1994 of the Antarctic Treaty Environmental Protection Protocol, every activity in the Antarctic has to be approved by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Please bear this in mind when planning your expedition and ask the UBA or the AWI environmental protection appointee for information on the approval procedure concerning your expedition / stay at the Dallmann Laboratory – in due time!
Moreover, every participant of the expedition is required to participate in the environmental protection training organized by the AWI, which is also stipulated by law. Please bear in mind in this context that travellers to Jubany who are planning to enter the SSSI 13 and work in there have to take their training record and their DNA approval (or a copy) with them at all costs because the base commander of Jubany reserves the right to inspect them.

8. Visa- / Passport formalities

For travels via South Africa, the applicant has to carry along a passport that has to be valid at least until the date of the return journey. In case of arrival and departure via Argentina and a stay in Argentina (arrival and departure) and at the station of altogether more than three months the applicant has to apply for extension of visa validity at the immigration agency before returning to Argentina. The Antarctic Peninsula is regarded as national territory by the Argentinean authorities and visas are only valid for 3 months. If a longer stay can be foreseen before the journey or the stay at the station is prolonged to more than 3 months a corresponding extend of visa has to be applied for. The responsibility lies in the hands of the participants themselves or the respective institute. In case of problems with entering or leaving the country, the German embassy in Buenos Aires has to be notified.
A belated application at the immigration agencies is punished with substantial fines.

9. Journey / Flight Booking

Journeys towards and departing from South America are organized by the AWI Logistics department. Other arrangements are possible at any time, but only in coordination with the Logistics department. The Organization is based on the Dallmann Itinerary issued and / or confirmed by the scientific coordinator. This means that the Logistics department does not take travel orders from expedition participants but only from Ch. Wiencke. This also applies for freight transports. Changes of already booked flights can only be made under important exceptional circumstances and after express confirmation by Ch. Wiencke (questions of costs must be clarified).
Normally flights are booked as group travels with company travel agencies or other low priced suppliers. Individual influence on the booking is only possible within the possibilities of the suppliers.
Ms Kuhlmann-Treu at the Logistics department can be asked for information if freight or personal luggage weights differ from the usual standard.
If you wish to depart from or arrive at a certain airport, please say so in your personal questionnaire and your wish will be taken into consideration by the Logistics department as far as possible. If you wish to combine your travel with a personal stay or vacation in the country you have to book the respective flights yourself. In exceptional cases, so called “open return tickets” that leave you free to make later concretions can be arranged for with Ms Kuhlmann-Treu.
The requirements for flight booking by the AWI Logistics department are as follows:

• you have submitted the completed personal questionnaire to the Logistics department and have specified your sponsors
• you have submitted the approved travel application / travel order to the AWI travel expenses office (Ms Onken) (only applies for travels financed by the AWI travel expenses fund)

You should always be prepared for a stopover of a few days in South America on arrival or departure and therefore take the accumulating accommodation and subsistence costs into account. Operational requirements may necessitate the use of tourist ships and / or South American airplanes for arrival and departure. This normally results in further costs. Crossings on tourist ships are about 50,- US$ a day (or the respective Euro market  quotation of the day) and have to be advanced in cash. Further information for travels on tourist ships can be found here.

Transfer flights with Chilean logistics might also have to be paid on the spot.
All participants not employed by the AWI have to settle their travel expenses to /from Jubany individually with their sponsors. They have to advance money for hotel bills and transfer costs and settle them with their sponsor later.

We will always try to effect transports with our Argentinean cooperation partner IAA/DNA, because according to the cooperation treaty these transports are free of charge for all participants. However, there will be occasions when we have to use other transport facilities. So far, expedition participants have always had a save journey to and from Jubany. Please do not get impatient and understand that in some exceptional cases the AWI Logistics, which has no immediate influence on these matters, will not be able to specify the final type of transport until two weeks prior to the journey.

Please bear in mind: We take care of your journey into the Antarctic and your way home – but we cannot guarantee that the original schedule can be kept.

Please also take into consideration that flights from Buenos Aires over Marambio might have to stopovers in Marambio for organizational reasons or because of bad weather conditions. No additional subsistence costs will arise for you, but you might lose working days of your expedition.

It is strongly recommended that you keep some parts of your polar clothing within arm’s reach for all transports from Buenos Aires, Punta Arenas and / or Ushuaia. This also applies for return transports. Transport routes and schedules from South America to the Dallmann Laboratory and back are binding.

10. Freight delivery

If possible, all expedition freight is sent by ship in consolidation because this is the cheapest possibility. The dates for the transports are specified in the schedule and are absolutely binding. The lead times might seem exaggerated, but result from the transport to Buenos Aires, interim times for agency services, custom formalities and other factors on which the AWI Logistics department has no influence.
All consolidation freight has to be delivered to the AWI Hafenlager. Please make sure that the complete freight lists (blanks are handed out to you) are attached to the delivery, otherwise it will not be accepted at the Hafenlager. If no consolidated freight transport has been organized by the AWI, or if freight has not been delivered in due time, the freight transport and the associated custom formalities have to be organized by the participants themselves.
Freight is usually transported from Buenos Aires to Jubany by Argentinean logistics and arrives in January. If the freight is needed earlier, it has to be flown in from Buenos Aires. The flights have to be scheduled very early, so the deadlines stipulated on the schedule are to be met at all costs. The Logistics department will also try to provide for a freight transport as early as November.
Please note: The total luggage weight (expedition equipment included) on this transport from Buenos Aires must not exceed 80 kg per person!

Freight delivery address

AWI Hafenlager
Lloydwerft-Gelände
Brückenstr. 25
D-27568 Bremerhaven

The return transport is usually also done by ship and organized by specialized agencies. External participants can organize the transport themselves and resort to the agencies at their own expenses.
The most important agencies at the AWI can be found here.

10.1. Freight packaging

Your expedition freight is exposed to numerous different means of transport and handlings (ship, aircraft, helicopter, snow vehicle etc.). Please keep this in mind when you choose the package. Container systems such as aluminum boxes, wooden pallets, iron-barred boxes etc have proved to be liable. At any rate, the freight has to be safe for sea transport, because it cannot always be guaranteed that the freight is stored under deck or in a container.

Please bear in mind that all material that is imported into the Antarctic has to be exported again. Plastic balls (polysterol), chips etc are not allowed for use in freight security due to environmental protection reasons.

Please note for freight delivery:

• freight should be delivered on pallets if possible
• package should be seaworthy, that is to say shock-proof and waterproof
• weight of individual boxes must not exceed 60 kg (higher weights have to be approved by Logistics in advance, pls. bear in mind that you might have to carry the boxes yourself in Marambio and Jubany)
• freight delivery has to be coordinated with the Hafenlager in a suitable way in advance ((telephone, mail, fax)

10.2. Labels and documents for freight handling

All pieces of freight have to be labeled with a large yellow cross (in case of boxes at least on two sides and on top, yellow adhesive tape is sufficient) esp. for the transport from Buenos Aires to Jubany. Both sender and recipient have to be specified clearly for transport from the AWI Hafenlager and for interim agencies. Information on the receiver and the label format can be gained at the Logistics department. In addition, all pieces of freight have to be numbered. This numbering must be identical to the freight list or correspond to the freight list.

Example: The participant Heinz Mustermann wants to ship 2 duffle bags, 1 wooden box and  1 aluminum box, that is 4 pieces of freight in total. The numbering has to be clear, as large as possible and should be done as follows:
H. M. 4/1 sea bag
H. M. 4/2 sea bag
H. M. 4/3 wooden box
H. M. 4/4 aluminum box

H. M. stands for the sender. The number 4 symbolizes the total quantity of pieces of freight, the consecutive numbers from 1 to 4 are the freight pieces numbers. (Pieces of freight should be labeled in English; the required indication of value has to be estimated in EURO).

The following documents are required on freight delivery: 

Packing lists
Each packing list refers to the content of one piece of freight (box, duffle bag etc). 1 packing list = 1 piece of freight, 4 packing lists = 4 pieces of freight. A copy of the packing list should be put inside the box to facilitate customs checks.
Please take into consideration that the freight is not insured by the AWI. The transport route is long and can lead through several countries and interim stations. Valuable personal freight (e.g. laptops, cameras etc) does not belong inside the freight boxes! Duffle bags should be stored in aluminum or other boxes for anti-theft protection.

Boxes should be secured against easy access with tie wraps or similar items. Security locks are not advisable because they might have to be broken by customs officers.

Freight list
The freight list is a list of all pieces of freight of an expedition participant or a group of participants.
4 pieces of freight = 1 freight list

Please fix a date for the delivery of your expedition freight to the AWI Hafenlager after submission of the freight and packing lists to the AWI Logistics department (Petra Loeppke). Copies of the freight and packing list have to presented on delivery, otherwise the freight will not be accepted.


10.3. Customs Clearance

The AWI Hafenlager is situated in the Free Port zone. After the stay, each participant has to re-import his equipment into the country. External expedition participants need the INF 3 paper (“Rückwarenregelungsauskunftsblatt” - available at the responsible customs office) for this purpose. The INF 3 paper indicates that the exported freight / freight that is exported is supposed to be re-imported into Germany. The customs authorities have to be enabled to check this paper. You must therefore:

• label all boxes and individual articles with consecutive numbers (see example)
• adhere the packing lists in the box covers
• attach the freight list to the INF 3 paper

The customs clearance has to be effected at the responsible customs office BEFORE delivery to the AWI Hafenlager. At the end of the stay at the station, the boxes have to be repacked exactly like they were at the beginning of the stay, so that the customs authorities can easily compare the re-imported freight to the items that were exported.

10.4. Dangerous Goods

There are very strict safety regulations for the transport of dangerous goods on ships and aircrafts that have to be followed. Dangerous goods can be transported by aircraft at the responsibility of individual expedition participants if these goods cannot be shipped with a consolidated transport. In this case the transport has to be paid by the respective sponsor. If you are not sure whether a substance you intend to use at the station or which has to be transported from Germany to the station qualifies as a dangerous good, please contact your supplier or Mr Klaus Woriescheck (the AWI dangerous goods appointee) in due time. Normally, dangerous goods transports from and to Jubany are organized by the AWI Logistics department.
Delivery of dangerous goods for consolidated transport to the AWI Hafenlager:

• The dangerous goods have to be listed on a separate freight list. Please see schedule for deadline dates.
• For each substance, an IMO Dangerous Goods Declaration according to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) has to be issued (separate forms for different dangerous goods classes). The producer / supplier is obliged to provide information. The original of the declaration has to be sent to the logistics department (to the attention of Mr Klaus Worischeck) before delivery of the goods in due time (see schedule), and a copy of the declaration has to be attached to the delivery.
• The dangerous goods have to be packed and labeled according to the IMDG Code, each dangerous goods class has to be packed separately. Dangerous goods that are not packed according to the regulations will not be accepted by the AWI Logistics.
• It is absolutely necessary to bring appropriate and approved empty containers for the return transport of the dangerous goods waste. These empty containers must not be labelled before they are filled. The responsibility for the disposal of the waste lies in the hands of each expedition participant.
• The dangerous goods have to be collected from the AWI Hafenlager within two days after the arrival of the return freight in Bremerhaven. You can only pick up your other expedition equipment from the AWI Hafenlager if you pick up your dangerous goods as well.

11. Final remarks

Open questions are normally discussed during a coordinative meeting prior to your expedition. This meeting is organized by the coordinators of the Dallmann Laboratory, Christian Wiencke (science) and Dirk Mengedoht (logistics). Please address your questions to them as early as possible so that these questions can be discussed during the meeting.
In general, freight transports and passenger transports to Jubany are organized comparably. This means that many different transport routes and means of transport are used. Transports are normally organized by external services or foreign cooperation partners. The logistics department has only limited influence, which means that your freight might not arrive in Jubany or back in Germany on the day you do. Please bear this in mind when you set up your schedule.
Please bear in mind that logistic reasons or unfortunate weather conditions might delay your outdoor works. You should also allow a few days time buffer after your return before you schedule any appointments because logistic difficulties may delay your return journey.
The freight is normally transported back by ship at the end of April, so it cannot be expected to arrive in Bremerhaven before June. If you have any freeze freight, you have to inform the logistic department about the kind of freight, quantity and necessary temperature fairly early so that an uninterrupted cold chain transport can be guaranteed. Please bear in might that normally your freight will arrive in Germany considerably later than you.
You are free to use telephone, fax, and e-mail at the Dallmann Laboratory. The redirection of private mail is only possible in exceptional cases and if a ship or aircraft from Argentina is going to Jubany. The biology department can provide you with the postal address. No side will assume liability for this type of correspondence.

Tel. Nr. 00870 382623512
 
Fax Nr. 00870 382623513
 
E-mail dallmann(at)awi.de