The first of three barter exchange cruises to do a geophysics science programme on the subduction zone off Sumatra, Indonesia started in April 2008. The programming of this UK-funded science programme was made possible by a 'super' barter exchange that provided UK scientists with access to 130 days on the German ship, RV Sonne, along with the technical support of a transnational team of seagoing technicians from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and the Leibniz-Institute of Marine Sciences, Kiel.
The UK has, in part-exchange, provided its German partner with: a 58-day geophysics cruise in the SE Pacific off Chile in early 2008 on the new research ship, RRS James Cook; and 38 days' use of the UK deep platform facility, TOBI, in support of a marine geology cruise on the RV Meteor in the Arabian Sea in late 2007.
This 'super' barter exchange between the UK and Germany is a major operational achievement for OFEG as it represents a major step forward in OFEG's cruise programming activity. The high level of trust and cooperation that has developed through the work of OFEG in recent years made this achievement possible, and it is hoped that this will be the first of many 'super' barters between OFEG partners.