Cruise Proposals
The purpose of a cruise proposal is to request ship time and berths on Germany’s large and medium-sized research vessels. Such proposals may be submitted either as regular cruise proposals for ship time only, without funding, or as corresponding core cruise proposals associated with a grant proposal under the DFG Priority Programme SPP 2520 “Research Vessels”.
When (interner Link) applicants should allow a lead time of between one and four years, depending on the size of the vessel. In addition, the research vessels have designated large-scale operating areas for logistical reasons, and these must be taken into account when planning. For detailed guidance on preparing scientific cruise proposals, see the current Cruise Proposal Preparation (Anchor Link). Specific deadlines and conditions apply to proposals submitted under SPP 2520 (see (interner Link)); these are also set out in the instructions.
Please submit your cruise proposal via the DFG’s (externer Link).
Please note that using the elan portal requires a one-off registration which must first be confirmed by the DFG. Confirmation generally takes until the next working day, and new registrations cannot be processed at weekends. Users of the research vessels who already have an elan account from other contexts may use their existing account and do not need to register again (see (Anchor Link)).
Cruise Categories
Cruise proposals for the German research vessels are generally submitted with the aim of conducting basic research. The vessels can be used for other purposes, but these likewise require the submission of a cruise proposal.
Scientific cruises form part of a basic research project. Cruises may differ in their design depending on the requirements, and the amount of ship time needed can vary greatly. A cruise may be a self-contained project, or it may form part of a programme with a different source of funding that may involve several cruises. Cruises such as those undertaken to monitor environmental change or carry out maintenance on long-term observatories are likewise regarded as scientific cruise projects and are reviewed as such.
The medium-sized research vessels are regularly used for cruises that form part of university curricula and fulfil mandatory requirements in student training. Proposals for cruises of this type may also be submitted as bundled proposals for annual cruises up to the end of the accreditation period of the degree programme in question. In addition, educational cruises may be proposed as individual cruises for special training formats such as summer schools or “floating universities”. Proposals for educational cruises are not reviewed primarily according to their scientific merit but mainly with regard to the appropriateness of the requested working days at sea.
Cruises conducted solely for the purpose of testing and developing new seagoing research equipment are not considered scientific cruises: these fall into a separate category. Where equipment testing is combined with a basic research project, a regular scientific cruise proposal must be submitted.
Short cruises lasting between one and three working days on the medium-sized vessels that serve solely to test scientific equipment still under development may be applied for directly through the (Anchor Link).
Cruises lasting more than three working days conducted solely for equipment testing require a Regular Cruise Proposal; this applies to all vessels. Such proposals are not reviewed primarily according to their scientific merit but mainly with regard to the appropriateness of the requested working days at sea.
In very rare cases, special cruises are required to serve the research policy agenda of the Federal Government, as the owner of several of the German research vessels. Owing to particular framework conditions, such as interministerial agreements, cruises of this type are not subject to the usual competitive process. Such cases also require the submission of regular cruise proposals, but these are reviewed by the panel primarily with regard to the appropriateness of the requested working days at sea.