Within the EU funded project EUROFLEETS2 (New operational steps towards an alliance of European research fleets) fully funded ship time on various European research vessels will be available between 2013 and 2017 to support outstanding research projects. The access to research vessels will be provided for European scientists and their partners on the sole condition of scientific excellence covering all fields of marine science from environmental and biodiversity protection, to coastal zone management, geodynamics and climate change research. Information on current and future calls for ship time will be presented.