Maritime Parliamentary Team and Kashubian Parliamentary Team Hold Sitting at Polish Senate on GMU and MUS Investment Projects for the Construction of New Ships
On 4 December, during a sitting of the Maritime Parliamentary Team and the Kashubian Parliamentary Team at the Senate of the Republic of Poland, dedicated to the building of new training and training and research vessels for Gdynia Maritime University and the Maritime University of Szczecin. Taking part in the sitting were members of parliament, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Dr Arkadiusz Marchewki, and HM The Rector of GMU, Professor Adam Weintrit.
During the sitting, the Deputy Minister for Infrastructure, Dr Arkadiusz Marchewka, announced increases in the budgets of both universities in connection with the implementation of investment projects, including those for the development of new training and training and research vessels. The announced budget increase for the Maritime University of Szczecin is PLN 50 m and for Gdynia Maritime University PLN 54 m.
HM The Rector of GMU, Professor Adam Weintrit, presented the history of maritime education in Poland, indicating that it is not only well-established today but in recent years it has consistently been in the top five in the world. The Rector mentioned that the University is currently the owner of the three vessels. Dar Młodzieżyi, Horyzont II and R/V IMOR. He then described each of the ships, detailing their parameters as well as the tasks they are involved in. The Rector indicated that an integral part of the education and training process of future maritime personnel is 12 months of sea-going service, and therefore without the necessary training vessels, the University will not be entitled to award officer diplomas. Professor Adam Weintrit, also reminded those gathered that Gdynia Maritime University currently guarantees students 4-months of onboard training, following which students gain a further eight months of experience at sea with the best ship operators in the world.
The Rector also highlighted that the University's current sail training ship, Dar Młodzieży, has the capacity to train up to 120 students. He then went on to discuss the successor to Dar Młodzieży, which, whilst matching the parameters of its predecessor, should be a modern frigate equipped with the newest technical and information technology solutions but also with traditional manual steering for training purposes. He also spoke of the cost of building such a ship according to a design project by Engineer Chorenia who designed the University's other vessels. Should the ship be built at a Polish shipyard, the cost is currently estimated at PLN 300 m.
The Rector of the Maritime University in Szczecin, Dr/Captain Wojciech Ślączka, spoke of plans for the construction of a new research and training ship for students, which in the future will replace the University's current vessel, Navigator. He also spoke of the University's staff in international research expeditions in search of precious metals, climate research, and other underwater and oceanic research in the Atlantic and the Pacific. The Rector of the Maritime University of Szczecin, Captain Wojciech Ślączka, mentioned the need for a research vessel that could compete with those from other countries and which Poland currently does not have at its disposal. The estimated cost of a new fully equipped modern research vessel is PLN 400 m.
The members of parliament declared their support for the projects, which aim to further develop Polish maritime education and research. Senator Stanisław Gawłowski drew attention to the fact that, without a suitable research vessel, Polish researchers cannot play their part in the race to discover precious metals. Senator Magdalena Kochan highlighted that the construction of both ships is a matter of Polish national interest and that the country can not allow itself to pursue bad maritime policy and under-finance the maritime industry. The head of the Kashubian Parliamentary Team, Kazimierz Kleina, declared that the members of parliament will sponsor both universities' education projects by providing them with the best maritime specialists in the country. During the sitting, it was also declared that both universities will receive an additional PLN 49 m of funding towards their day-to-day operations.
