Conference on Merchant Navy Fleet Held at GMU Faculty of Navigation
On 24 April 2024, a conference organised under the auspices of the University with the involvement of representatives from the worlds of science, business, and the maritime industry took place at the Faculty of Navigation. The Conference, entitled “Merchant Navy Fleet under the National Flag - Polish Raison d’état”, was opened by HM The Rector of Gdynia Maritime University, Professor Adam Weintrit.
In his opening speech the Rector said:
“[...] today’s conference is being held in a special place - namely the Faculty of Navigation of Gdynia Maritime University, which is itself the owner and operator of three ships that fly the white and red of the Polish flag”.
HM The Rector of Gdynia Maritime University also added that he hopes that the conference will contribute to realistic change and further discussion on the topic.
Guests and participants were also welcomed by the principal organiser of the conference, Captain Tadeusz Hatalski, the Deputy Chair of the Council for the Development of the Polish Navy and Merchant Navy. Before proceedings went ahead, a representative of the Ministry of Development and Technology, Krzysztof Partyka, a Councillor at the Department of Economic Regulation Excellence, also drew attention to the issue of the competitiveness of the national fleet in transhipment within the EU.
The conference outlined the rise and fall of the Polish flag as the representative colours of the merchant fleet and the place of the fleet, including the offshore wind fleet, in the developing maritime economy. Also discussed were possible initiatives to make shipping under the national flag profitable and to make the merchant fleet a stronghold of the Polish maritime industry.
