Final preparations

An international team of scientists, technicians and students arrived from various places to board Polarstern on February 5th. The day before, an advance team already helped to prepare the loading and installation of the most important equipment of our expedition, the MeBo seabed drilling device. There is only one single pier in the port of Punta Arenas at which ships of large draft can berth. In the summer season, this pier is highly in demand by cruise ships and container vessels which get priority to other ships. Polarstern was given only 2.5 days’ time before it  had to leave the pier to give way for a cruise ship. This was very little time to complete the loading of containers and the preparation for the deck installation and loading of the heavy MeBo device. The tension rose in the morning of February 6th. Can work at the pier be completed by 1 pm, or would we have to expect a delay of up to 3 days for departure? At 12.40 the mobile heavy-duty crane that was ordered lifted the MeBo onto its launch and recovery system, which had been installed on the deck of Polarstern. At 1 pm the ship left the pier. This was perfect timing and an excellent job by the ship’s crew, the ship coordination team and the MeBo team. We remained on anchorage in the bay of Punta Arenas for another two days in which the MeBo components were further assembled and their functionality tested. After a completed test with MeBo slightly dipped into water, we finally departed from Punta Arenas on February 8th while having wonderful weather.

The route through the narrow western Strait of Magellan with its stunning landscape towards the Pacific is an enjoyment that none of the 50 scientific participants and 44 crew members missed. We arrived in the Pacific at night and were immediately received with strong gales and a high sea-state. 6 days we would have to transit to our area of research, crossing a region that is known for its frequent storms. But we were lucky that we were not hit by any storms except for the first day. For the last two days, we even experienced unusual calm seas with occasional times of no winds at all. In the meantime, all equipment and instruments have been installed, and we are now full of excitement and expectations upon arriving in our research target area, the continental shelf of the Amundsen Sea off West Antarctica. First icebergs have already been seen.