2018-06-06

Driving force of the Polish maritime economy

Discussion during the last information and promotional meeting of the Polish Ship Managers Association was held under the slogan “Polish Ship Management as the driving force of the Polish Maritime Economy”.

The Association’s initiative aiming to improve the competitive opportunities of Polish shipping enterprises through the introduction of a tax exemption scheme and new rules regarding the payment of social insurance contributions was met with particular interest. This topic is important due to the fact that it practically decides about the being or not being of a shipping enterprise – according to data of the World Maritime University in Malmö, an average of 50 to 70% of operating expenditures (the so-called OPEX) is represented by crew-related costs. This is often of the most significant expense borne by ship managers.

On the other hand, Henrik Bach (Country Head, DNV GL Poland) presented a DNV GL approach to the issues of cybernetic security in maritime shipping, broken down into specific security and critical infrastructure levels. Due to the increasingly wider application of digital solutions on ships, this topic is becoming incredibly important, especially as regards the safety of navigation, as was painfully discovered by the Dutch Maersk Line when it was attacked by hackers nearly a year ago. Guests from Great Britain, Bill Reeves and Ian McQuade from the Portland Port’s management board, and Sławomir Kalicki (Inter Marine), a member of the Polish Ship Managers Association’s management board, presented the fruits of cooperation between Inter Marine and Portland Port. The general conclusion is that the turbulence over Brexit, although serious, does not prevent Polish companies from achieving success on the British market and even participating in major projects (e.g. construction of aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy). Henryk Zawadzki and Michał Maziec - who represent the supporting member Wilhelmsen Ships Service Poland – presented the growth perspectives for their company in Poland and in the Baltic Sea region as well as recent organisational transformations within the group.
Meeting participants were in consensus that Polish shipping enterprises and support branches are able to effectively compete on global markets and effectively cooperate with foreign partners. However, this potential is not fully utilised due to restrictions of various nature (including the restrictions of the legal system in the Republic of Poland).

One of the panels at the Maritime Economy Forum Gdynia 2018 shall be dedicated to ship management.

 Article developed in cooperation with "Namiary na Morze i Handel" magazine.