RV POSEIDON and JAGO in the Black Sea. Photo: K. Hissmann

"JAGO" is a manned submersible primarily dedicated to exploration and research in marine sciences. It allows researchers of different disciplines a personal view on the seafloor to a depth of 400 meters.

The submersible moves autonomously underwater and is not connected by an umbrilical cable to a support ship. Two large hemispherical viewports provide excellent views of the sea bed and surrounding environment for both the pilot and one observer.

The relatively light weight (3 tons) and the compact size (3 x 2 x 2.5 m) enable worldwide operations from a wide variety of support ships that have sufficient crane capacity, as well as logistically simple transportation in a single 20' sea freight container.

Typical applications are deep-water exploration of the seafloor and overlying water column; digital photo/video documentation; selective collection of specific organisms, rock, gas and water samples; deployment of instruments; environmental impact studies; inspections and salvages.

JAGO is presently the only manned research submersible in Germany. It has been stationed at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) since 2006. The craft was built in 1989, according to the rules of the Germanischer Lloyd for underwater vehicles, by a small expert team lead by marine biologist Hans Fricke at the former Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology.

• Technical specifications
• Planned and previous operations since 2006
• Requirements for support ships and transport