Comments on the suitability of the vessel 
We are grateful to the Master and the crew of R/V Pelagia for the warm welcome and sup- 
vort we had on board. The co-operation with bridge and deck was brilliant. This holds also for 
the communication with NIOZ before entering the vessel. We enjoyed very much having 
been on board. 
The vessel provides much space for save storage of materials, containers and laboratory 
work. The behaviour of the vessel, its movements under heavier weather conditions are sur- 
prisingly comfortable. 
It is recommended the ships crew should harmonise maintenance work, e. rust removal, 
Dainting etc. with the scientific work carried out during the cruise in order to avoid sample 
contamination. 
Technical problems encountered were solved more or less quickly and easly. The initial 
oroblem connecting containers to electric power could be solved ingeniously. It is recom- 
mended that in future both, scientific and ships crew clarify the situation with respect to 
olugs, sockets and adapters when planning the cruise, since different countries run different 
plug’n socket systems. 
In case scientific work is carried out in containers stored within the vessel a better air condi- 
tioning in the container locker is recommended, especially when outside temperature is ele- 
vated. 
The permanent installation of a drying oven for filters and biological samples is recom- 
mended. 
The accessibility of the wet laboratory from the deck is ingeniously solved. Hand pallet trucks 
can easily transport heavy or voluminous samples or equipment into the wet lab without diffi- 
zulties. The wet laboratory lacks some additional storage place for. e.g. freezers or chemical 
containers in easy reach. 
It is recommended to motivate scientific crews to carefully tidy up and clean the laboratories 
before leaving the vessel. The crew should regularly check the proper function of water dis- 
charge pipes. 
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