Code of Conduct

You can find the Code of Conduct - Expeditions here:

When you are going to be part of an expedition with RV Polarstern you will have to fill the Expedition Interface System - EIS with your personal information, travel details and freight. Additionally, you will also have to acknowledge that you have read and understood the Code of Conduct and accompanying documents before the expedition start. Compliance with the code is requirement for your participation. 

To illustrate what we mean by a common understanding of respectful interaction, the AWI has produced a video together with the shipping company Laeisz, which will also be shown on board at the beginning of the expedition. The crew is equally informed about the content of the video and our Code of Conduct. 

https://youtu.be/a8tJ6p5B_nY

There are participants from different cultural backgrounds on board and mutual consideration must be shown accordingly.

All passengers are requested to dress appropriately and neatly on board and to refrain from wearing long underwear or tight-fitting sportswear in the public areas of the ship, for example.

Working clothes and boots are used on deck and in labs, but shall not be used in messroom I and the social rooms.

Persons of trust

To make sure that expedition participants have the possibility to personally talk to persons of trust, at least two ombuds persons have to be appointed for each expedition. These two will be appointed before the expedition by the chief scientist, additional ombuds person can be elected on board at the start of the expedition if the scientists wish to do so. Please inform the ship's coordination (schiffskoord@awi.de) if additional ombuds persons were elected on board. 

The reason that ombuds persons are designated in advance of the expedition is to ensure that they have the opportunity to prepare appropriately for this task. A training workshop will be held regularly. Please contact schiffskoord@awi.de for further information.

The person additionally elected on board is elected by the community, but does not necessarily have any kind of prior knowledge. However, this is not necessarily a disadvantage or an obstacle, since the experts mentioned below are always available to assist the ombudspersons on board.

Guidance for persons of trust an be found in the info box to the right.

Ombuds persons have to be other than the chief scientist him- or herself and participants need to have the possibility to talk to them in private.

The appointed persons of trust do not necessarily need to have a special training, as this is not always feasible for expedition participants, but briefings will be carried out beforehand and trainings will be offered whenever possible in the course of the expedition preparation.

Complaint Office:

https://www.awi.de/en/work-study/awi-as-an-employer/equal-opportunities.html              

Complaints box

Since summer 2023, everybody on board has the possibility to use a letterbox next to the "post office" on deck A for anonymous and non-anonymous notes, questions and complaints. The mailbox is emptied twice a week by the Persons of trust. They receive the key for the complaints box from the chief officer at the beginning of the cruise.