The Latest Photo Mystery

See the odd-looking vessel in the background? Fred Fry at Maritime Monday 183 and EagleSpeak pass along requests for help with a mystery ship, AERIA.
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If M.E. readers want more information or can help solve the following questions, please refer to the links provided above:

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A) Who knows more about the history and the purpose of this odd-looking vessel?

B) Who knows the where-abouts of this odd-looking vessel?

C) Who can shine a light on the future of this odd-looking vessel?

Why the doctored photo above? M.E. checked the German film industry (E. German past and current) for possible connection to the whale shaped craft. Although my search was fruitless, it did suggest a way to attract your attention with one curiosity,

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Oct. 3, 2009 - Variety - Germans take on 'Moby Dick'
Tele Munchen TV prod toplines William Hurt, Donald Sutherland, Ethan Hawke, Gillian Anderson , and Billy Boyd. At $25.5 million, the TV two-parter is the most expensive production in Tele Munchen’s 40-year history. Unpaid harbor fees for the mystery ship obviously pale in comparison.

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Now, the final question is whether the German director will use a mechanical whale or computer-generated animation.

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The always silent and strange way submariners see the juicy mystery ship, of course, is through an imaginary periscope.