Joint project between Fassmer and the MEYER Group

Rostock/Papenburg, May 4, 2023 – With the traditional keel laying ceremony, construction of the research vessel METEOR IV for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research officially began today at the NEPTUN WERFT shipyard. The MEYER Group is building the research vessel in collaboration with the Lower Saxony shipyard Fassmer. Employees from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Fassmer, NEPTUN Ship Design, MEYER WERFT, and NEPTUN WERFT were present at the site.

“The research vessel is being built at our shipyard sites in Warnemünde and Papenburg – proving that we can already operate very flexibly with the construction sites available to us within the MEYER Group,” says Thomas Weigend, Managing Director of MEYER WERFT. “By working with Fassmer, we are bringing together the expertise of two specialist shipyards. Fassmer has extensive experience in building government and research vessels and in working with ministries, while we as the MEYER Group are contributing our knowledge from the construction of the research vessel Sonne,” Weigend continues.

The new METEOR is approximately 125 meters long and has a gross tonnage of approximately 10,000 GT. In addition to 35 scientists, there is room for 36 nautical and technical crew members on board. The METEOR IV is designed for multifunctional and interdisciplinary research missions worldwide, with a focus on the Atlantic Ocean. The new vessel will make an important contribution to national and international marine research, particularly in the fields of climate and environmental research.

The research vessel METEOR IV is scheduled for delivery in 2026 and will replace the existing METEOR and the POSEIDON, which has already been decommissioned.