Onboard duties of the chief scientist
(Excerpt from the ship management contract; attachment 9)
a) Determination of the route and the work processes after consultation with the captain.
b) Coordination of a smooth cooperation of the different groups. The chief scientist is authorised to give instructions for the scientific personnel and other persons who are onboard on behalf of AWI.
c) Adaption of the programme to weather and ice conditions or to findings from the previous work. He may therefore change the scientific working plan insofar as the available time is not exceeded and safety not affected.
d) Assigning the accomodation and work place to the scientific participants.
e) Supervision of the lab container. Usage of the lab container is overseen by the chief scentist. Technical support for the laboratories is provided by the crew.
f) Securing a smooth life onboard. In order to keep cleanliness and order onboard the chief scientist oversees the general order and careful treatment of the cabins and laboratories.
g) Representation of RV POLARSTERN and AWI towards scientific institutions and together with the captain towards authorities during stays in foreign harbours.
h) Information about the progress of the cruise. The chief scientist organizes informational and planning meetings and distributes a work programme. He writes weekly reports about the cruise for outward information.
i) The chief scientist decides about helicopter operations in agreement with the captain and the flight officer and signs the flight instructions.
j) Services of the agencies in foreign harbours have to ordered by the chief scientist, the captain or the AWI logistics. Private use of services or other support by the agency is on each participants own account and usually has to be paid in cash.
k) The chief scientist has the authority to invite people including catering. This requires agreement with the captain.
l) If required by the course of the journey the chief scientist receives the weapons from the captain upon arrival in the working area and returns them after departure. During the stay in the working area the chief scientist is responsible for proper handling of the weapons.
Tasks that go beyond the ship management contract:
- Organisation of shuttle busses in the harbour.
- Organisation of the group transfer to the airport or to the hotel.
- Clarifying open questions with the participants and if necessary the agency (e.g. last minute purchases etc.)
- The cruise leader prepares a working programme after consultation with the captain and the cruise members. The programme will be distributed electronically. Furthermore he informes the cruise members in meetings and coordinates the demands on the crew. He also organizes social events and the farewell event at the end of the journey.
- Invitation to the captain for a final meeting at the end of the expedition.
General responsibilities of the chief scientist
The chief scientist is responsible for all expeditions members. This concerns:
- Care and health
- Adherence to the legally prescribed rest periods.
- Adherence to safety instructions for working on deck, in the laboratories and other rooms, on the ice, onshore etc. (for detailed information regarding work safety see below)
- Diplomatic proposals for marine research (proposal, adherence to obligations, reporting)
- Compliance with the obligations of the German Environment Agency
- Adherence to local rules during works onshore (e.g. Greenland)
- Compliance with the regulations of the Antarctic Treaty and protocols
- Documentation of participation in the Environment Protection Seminar
- Compliance with the AWI Code of Conduct and accompanying documents (i.e. Drug & Alkohol Policy, Smoking Policy, Sexual Misconduct Policy)
- Compliance to image and name rights
- Release of media publications in the sense of AWI
- Compliance of the communication guidelines of AWI
- Order and safety of the expedition members
- Condition of the cabins, the leisure rooms and general behaviour onboard
- Communication with the AWI logistics in case of incidents or emergency
Because the chief scientist cannot be everywhere at the same time some duties may rest on several shoulders. Organization and control of the arrangements is duty of the chief scientist.
A representative may be delegated to act as assistant chief scientist in case the chief scientist is absent.
Duties and responsibilities can be delegated to group leaders or other persons. The delegation has to be documented in writing with subject of the document, date and signature of both parties.
Responsibilities may reach into areas where labour law, liability law or criminal law can apply. A private liability of a expedition member in his area of responsibility cannot be excluded. The particular employer is not liable in every case.
German legislation applies onboard.
Information for cruise leaders on mobbing and harassment:
Responsibilities in terms of work safety
General work safety instructions for ships can be found in the "Handbook of safe working practice" published by the workers compensation board (BG Verkehr). Implementation of the occupational safety and health standards stated therein will be supervised by the Chief Mate / 1st Officer together with the Chief Scientist and the safety representative (see People in charge). It can be downloaded as free App (english & german) for easy offline use on smart phones or tablets:
The same guide is also available in hard copy in the messrooms on board of RV Polarstern.
If tasks are planned on board or on the ice that are not covered by this guide or safety measures defined by AWI, a risk analysis has to be carried out by the chief scientist to define the risks and find mitigation measures. Guidance on how to carry out a risk analysis can be found here: Gefährdungsbeurteilungen / Risk Assessments
Lab work: Research work that is carried out in the different laboratories on board requires the preperation of a risk assessment for each lab before the expedition starts. Due to the fact that the cruise leader cannot oversee all of the different experiments that are carried out in the different labs, the laboratory manager (see here People in charge) of each lab has the responsibility to prepare a risk assessment for the respective lab and hand it over to the cruise leader for checking well before the start of the expedition to make sure that the intended expediments can be carried out safely.
Compliance with work hours and rest periods is the responsibility of the cruise leader. Check attached documents for regulations regarding work hours and overtimes on expeditions.
