Editorial of Ship&Offshore 06/2025: Future-proof

The day before the current issue of Ship&Offshore went to press, I had the honour of boarding the research vessel Polarstern in Bremenhaven. The icebreaker, which belongs to the German Federal Government, had just returned to its home port after a 20-week Antarctic season. After around six weeks of routine maintenance and repair work at the Lloyd Werft shipyard, the research vessel was scheduled to depart for the Arctic again at the end of May. This ship has many impressive features, one of which is certainly that the old lady has been in service since 1982.

Built at the Nobiskrug shipyard in Rendsburg, Northern Germany, in just 14.5 months, the ship was built without any precedent and many of the then planned technologies and designs are still useful and future-proof today. But even more impressive were the people we met on board – the captain, who speaks very fondly of the ship after 15 years on board, representatives of important research institutions, the ship’s doctor (in fact, an appendectomy has already been performed on board three times), the ship’s electricians, kitchen staff, scientists, and engineers. They are all united by their love of the ship, the important marine and polar research to which the Polarstern makes a vital contribution, and their connection to seafaring. I‘m really looking forward to filing the copy of my visit – the photos and the interview responses for the next issue of Schiff&Hafen and, of course, the Ship and Offshore Repair Journal – because without the semi-annual dockings in Bremerhaven and Lloyd Werft’s devotion to the ship, the ‘pin-up girl’ of research vessels, as the Polarstern was once called according to Captain Thomas Wunderlich, would probably not be in such good shape today. She sometimes groans, says Wunderlich, but she’s allowed to do that at her age. In our coverage of the topic, we will of course also focus on the new icebreaker, the Polarstern 2, for which, after 17 years of complex planning and funding discussions, the construction contract was finally awarded last December.

We will also address the dramatic decline of polar sea ice and land ice at both the North and South Poles, which the Polarstern’s expeditions have repeatedly documented. And which needs our urgent attention! But before that, the journey continues to Oslo for Nor-Shipping, which is celebrating its 60th birthday this year and will once again welcome the international maritime community this June — both at the exhibition centre in Lillestrøm and throughout the city at various social gatherings. Industry events like Nor-Shipping continue to play an important role in fostering exchange and cooperation across the maritime sector. In light of current global developments, it is more important than ever to reflect on past experience in order to make informed, future-oriented decisions. With “Future-proof” as this year’s guiding theme, the exhibition provides a fitting framework for these discussions. Our team will be present at the German Pavilion in Hall C. We are looking forward to seeing you there!