Maritime Disasters – Can They Be Prevented? The Next Open Lecture in the GMU Series Marking the Centenary of Gdynia

Delivered by Master Mariner Dariusz Jellonnek, the presentation will focus on historic ship disasters that have shaped our reality and resulted in many human tragedies.

The speaker — President of the Board of the Polish Shipowners' Association and Director of the Maritime Operations Department at Gdynia Maritime University – graduated from the Faculty of Navigation of the Higher Maritime School in Gdynia in 1992. Following his graduation, he spent 20 years working on various types of vessels, including over 14 years as a captain (notably for the British shipowner Stephenson Clarke Shipping Ltd – SCS).

The lecture will begin with the Titanic disaster; while several films have been made about it, the audience's attention will be drawn to alternative aspects that heavily influenced the outcome. The Polish ferry Jan Heweliusz will also feature, having recently returned to the headlines thanks to a recent television series. Additionally, the presentation will cover the history of several other vessels, including the MV Derbyshire, MT Exxon Valdez, and Costa Concordia.

Captain Jellonnek will attempt to identify the real causes that led to these tragic disasters. While this will naturally be a subjective perspective, it is firmly based on his own experience working at sea.

The lecture series is a collaborative initiative run jointly by Gdynia Maritime University, the Polish Naval Academy, WSB Merito University Gdynia, and the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski University of Administration and Business, in cooperation with the City of Gdynia. The event is part of the celebrations marking the centenary of the city and aims to popularise knowledge and familiarise residents with the scientific activities of Gdynia's higher education institutions.

The talk will be given in Polish. Admission is free.