Augusta at the dock in Tvärminne. Photo by Alf Norkko. 

 

There’s a new ship in the bay, as Tvärminne Zoological Station just received their brand-new research vessel. Augusta, an aluminum catamaran, 18 meters long, has been built and equipped to suit the requirements of coastal marine research. It runs on waters as shallow as 1,5 meters, enabling a wide range of usage for the top modern equipment. Professor Alf Norkko, director academic leader at Tvärminne Zoological station and guest professor at the Baltic Sea Centre in Stockholm, embraces the importance of the new vessel:

– It is vital for the field work at Tvärminne to have a well-equipped vessel, for high class, modern marine research in coastal areas. With the new catamaran, we have strengthened our position as one of the most important research units in the northern Baltic Sea area.

New possibilities for Baltic Bridge collaboration

The strategic partnership Baltic Bridge, joining researchers from Baltic Sea Centre and Tvärminne Zoological Station, has been ongoing since 2015. With the new research vessel, further possibilities opens up in the collaboration.

– The vessel will also play an important role in the increasing intensifying Baltic Bridge collaboration with Stockholm University’s Baltic Sea Centre, Alf Norkko continues.

Financing boosted by major donation

The building of Augusta was made possible with help of donations made for Stig Gustavson’s 70th birthday. His wish, to address any birthday donation to a fund for Baltic Sea research at Helsinki University, along with the state financing program, enabled an 800 000 Euro donation for the building of the vessel. The total cost of building the vessel was 1,9 million Euro.

Naming and inauguration of the new vessel was held on October 18. In connection, a Baltic Bridge seminar was held, celebrating the collaboration between Stockholm and Helsinki, with participation by the Stockholm University Vice-Chancellor Astrid Söderbergh Widding, and Baltic Sea Centre's director Tina Elfwing and scientific director Christoph Humborg.

Read more at the Tvärminne Zoological Station website.