Jubilee 10th International Maritime Congress in Szczecin

The great feast of the maritime industry took place in Szczecin on 27 and 28 June this year.

The 10th International Maritime Congress began at the Opera in the Castle in Szczecin. It was inaugurated by three plenary debates. They summarize the past decade in the maritime economy. The key role of ports in the development of offshore wind energy and the policy of inland water transport development are discussed.

The letter to the participants of the Congress was sent by: Speaker of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Elżbieta Witek, Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. They were read out respectively by MPs Michał Jach and Artur Szałabawka and the voivode of Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship Zbigniew Bogucki

Marshal Witek wrote: - Poland is currently developing its maritime potential with great determination, as evidenced by, among others, achievements of the domestic shipbuilding industry, transport companies or introduced innovations. However, the changing reality, as well as our current geopolitical situation, poses new challenges for us. In this context, the Congress is a very valuable initiative. We need in-depth analyzes and accurate recognition of the changing conditions. They are guaranteed by a representative group of representatives of the maritime economy sector, maritime industries, maritime science and education, as well as representatives of government and local government administration who participate in annual meetings of the Congress, sharing their knowledge, experience and invention.

In turn, Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński congratulated on the jubilee and noted that the International Maritime Congress has become one of the most important events related to maritime economy. He also emphasized the exceptional importance of this issue. – Maritime economy should, and in fact must become a flywheel for the dynamic development of the coast and our entire national economy – wrote Jarosław Kaczyński.

The Congress was opened by Marek Gróbarczyk, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Government Plenipotentiary for Water Management and Investments in the Maritime and Water Economy. As he noted, it is a time of evaluation, reflection and discussion about what has been done. He emphasized the role of the Congress in carrying out such investments as 12.5 m for Szczecin:

- What we managed to achieve last year, i.e. the readiness of the port to accept much larger vessels, began precisely at the Congress, here the pressure was created, which led to this extraordinary success - said the deputy minister. “A lot has been accomplished in these 10 years.

The minister also mentioned the plans and challenges for the next decade, related to e.g. with the launch of inland navigation or the development of offshore wind energy. He also expressed hope that in 10 years the results of port transshipments will be doubled, reaching 260 million tons.

On the first day, a ceremony was held to honor the chairman of the Maritime Convention, doctor honoris causa of the Gdynia Maritime University, captain of great shipping Zbigniew Sulatycki with the Grand Order of St. Otto of Bamberg. The award was presented by Fr. archbishop prof. Andrzej Dzięga, Metropolitan of Szczecin-Kamień.

The second day of the Congress is a series of discussion panels on, among others, ports and shipping, shipbuilding, offshore wind energy, security and science and education.

On that day, the accompanying events were the signing of two letters of intent. The first concerns the cooperation between Orlen and the Maritime School Complex in Świnoujście in the context of the development of education in the field of logistics and marine energy.

In turn, the second letter was signed by representatives of the Italian port of Venice - Secretary General of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority Antonella Scardino and the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority - President of the Management Board Krzysztof Urbas, in order to undertake joint efforts to activate railway, intermodal connections for transporting cargo from common facilities, as well as to handle the stream of cargo between the Mediterranean basin and Scandinavia, using the ports of Szczecin and Świnoujście. The declared cooperation, in addition to joint initiatives supporting and promoting the development of railway connections, is also the exchange of experience, practices, operational "know-how" and cooperation in obtaining the necessary funds.