Sea-Watch 4
The Sea-Watch 4 is a former German research ship. The ship is owned by Sea-Watch e. V. who are using her as a rescue ship for refugees in distress on the Mediterranean Sea. Previously, the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) operated the ship under the original name of Poseidon, after the Greek god of the sea, with the State of Schleswig-Holstein as the owner. In January 2020 the ship was auctioned and bought by Sea-Watch e. V. and renamed Sea-Watch 4 on 20 February 2020. History The ship was built in 1975/76, under construction number 2266 at the Schichau Unterweser shipyard in Bremerhaven. The keel was laid on 4 November 1975, and the launch took place on 2 May 1976. The ship was completed in August 1976, and on 30 August 1976 the ship was put into service. The construction of the ship cost around 23 million DM and was financed 90% from funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany) (BMFT) and 10% from funds from the State of Schleswig-Holstein. The ship was operated by the Kiel Institute for Oceanography until 2003 and then by the Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences at the University