2017-10-16

Maritime Economy Forum Gdynia 2017 completed successfully

The Forum, under the theme The future of maritime economy in the light of the latest trends in the world markets – comprised of open discussion panels, and business people from the different maritime industries as well as entrepreneurs and scientists, ensured that the discussions were pragmatic and to the point, and at the same time provided a free and easy going exchange of opinions and ideas. There were also several fact-based presentations, which provided the foundation for further discussions. As usual the Forum was officially opened by the event leader Sławomir T. Kalicki as well as Gdynia’s President Wojciech Szczurek - the host of the event.

Wojciech Szczurek - President of Gdynia during opening speech.

 

"What we consider to be of utmost importance is the practical extent of the Forum debate. I believe that it will facilitate a more dynamic development of the Polish maritime economy" - the Gdynia President, Wojciech Szczurek, said in his welcome address.

Marek Gróbarczyk, the Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation,emphasised in his inaugural address that “the maritime economy is an industry which the government perceives as having a huge potential and which belongs among its priorities”. He stated that the essential factors for the development of the maritime industry are: shipbuilding industry, navigation, including inland navigation, port utilization and operation, fishing, as well as education. Today we focus on the final detail of the plan, the financial aspect - he said. It is about creating the Maritime Investment Fund (MIF). - The industry is not going to take off without that money - he added.

The Minister explained that the MIF will not only focus on the shipbuilding sector but also inland navigation.

 

- We have set out that by the end of this year the main framework of the MIF will be ready which we would like to discuss with the entrepreneurs - he added. The Minister admitted that until “that time the department would like to discuss the issue with the supervisory bodies, that is with the Financial Supervisory Authority, with the main investors, who will be participating in this fund, as well as with the industry representatives”.

Marek Gróbarczyk, Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation

 

During the inaugural part of the event Professor Andrzej K. Koźmiński, the rector of the excellent Leon Koźmiński Academy in Warsaw, gave a lecture entitled “The new pragmatic approach versus the new nationalism. Opportunities and threats they present for the world and for Poland”. This was followed by a lecture by another special guest, Iain Shepherd, a representative of the European Commission, entitled “Trends in Blue Economy”.

prof. zw. dr hab. dr h.c. Andrzej K. Koźmiński

 Iain Shepherd, DG MARE European Comission

Traditionally, statuettes of the “Innovative Maritime Economy 2017” competition were awarded during the Forum. This year the winners of this competition were:

- Remontowa LNG Systems in the category COMPANY

- Remontowa Shipbuilding in the category TECHNOLOGY

- Des Art Sp. z o.o. in the category CALCULATIONS TECHNOLOGY

- Crist Shipyard in the category PRODUCT

- Zbigniew Miodowski, president of the company Zink Power from Szczecin, in the category personality of the year

Statuettes of Innovative Maritime Economy 2017 awards

 

It was the second time that a competition was organised within the Forum by the City of Gdynia and the Pomorze Film Foundation for the screenplay and production of the short film promoting maritime economy in Poland. This time the winner was Andrzej Mańkowski, creator of the film "Mój port" [My port]. Those who received special mention were Jakub Maj forthe film “Gospodarka morska, ziomeczku! [Maritime economy, dude] and Sławomir Witek for the film “Morskie zaproszenie” [Maritime Invitation].

Winner of the first prize Andrzej Mańkowski

For the first time an award of the Polish Ship Managers’ Association [PZZS] was granted for the top achieving graduate of maritime studies. The first place - a cash prize of 10 thousand PLN and an employment opportunity with a PZZS member chosen by the graduate - was won by Adrian Groman - a graduate of the Faculty of Navigation and Naval Weaponry of the Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia. The second place and a cash prize of 2.5 thousand PLN - was won by Aleksander Wolak -a graduate of the Faculty of Navigation of the Polish Naval Academy in Szczecin, and in the third place - cash prize of 2.5 thousand PLN - came Kamila Kaffka -a graduate of the Faculty of Navigation of the Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia. 

Awarded students of the top achieving graduate of maritime studies award

The competition judges panel comprised of Ireneusz Kuligowski - president of the board at Green Management sp. z o.o., Sławomir Kalicki - president of the board at Inter Marine sp. z o.o., Dariusz Jellonnek - Director General of the V. Ships Poland Sp. z o.o. and Paweł Kmieciak - manager of the crewing agency at the Polaris Maritime Services.

The judges panel was in session with the following observers present: PhD Eng. Agnieszka Deja - vice-rector for education at the Naval Academy in Szczecin and naval captain PhD Dariusz Bugajski - vice-rector for education at the Naval Academy in Gdynia.

 

DISCUSSION PANELS

 

During the panel discussion entitled Przemysły Morskie [Maritime Industries] a debate took place concerning the development of shipbuilding industry in the light of the Strategy for Responsible Development as well as innovativeness of the Polish shipbuilding industry. Jerzy Czuczman,President of the Association of Polish Maritime Industries, was the panel leader, and the panel guests were the following:

Katarzyna Krzywda -Director of the Department of Maritime Economy MGMiŻŚ

Katarzyna Sampler -the National Centre for Research and Development

Piotr Dowżenko -President of the Board, Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A.

Konrad Konefał - a member of the Board of the MARS group - MS TFI S.A.

Ewa Kruchelska -Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of CRIST S.A.

Piotr Kubicz -a member of the Board, Remontowa Shiprepair Yard S.A.

Sławomir Latos - President of the Board, "NAUTA" S.A. Shiprepair Yard

Beata Cichocka-Tylman, Director, Innovations and B+R, PWC Poland - discussion moderator Maciej Janicki - Senior Manager, Deloitte Poland - discussion moderator

Maritime Industries Panel

 

During the Maritime Logistics panel, led by Mr Marek Tarczyński, the Chairperson of the Council of Polish International Freight Forwarders Association and the President of the Board of Terramar, discussions focused on the difficult situation in the world containers market and the general condition of the TSL maritime sector. Professor Andrzej Grzelakowski from the Maritime Academy in Gdynia was moderating the discussion during the panel, and the panel guests included:

Maciej Brzozowski - Director, Hafen Hamburg Marketing e.V. Agency in Poland

Jarosław Grochowski - Director, MOL (Europe) BV Sp. z o.o. Polish division

Adam Żołnowski -Deputy President of the Board in charge of Finance, DCT Gdańsk S.A.

Piotr Karczewski - Managing Director, ZIM Poland Sp. z o.o.

Maritime Logistics panel

 

The leader of the panel on the topic of Seaports was Krzysztof Szymborski - Chairperson of the Council of Stakeholders of Port Gdynia and the President of the Board of the Baltic Container Terminal in Gdynia Sp. z o.o. The issues under panel discussion centred around developments which were still being planned as well as those being already set in motion at the four largest ports in Poland. The issues of complementarity and competiveness of the Polish ports were also raised.

The panel guests were:

Adam Meller - President of the Board of the Port of Gdynia S.A.

Łukasz Greinke - President of the Board of the Port of Gdańsk S.A.

Arkadiusz Zgliński - the Board of the Port of Elbląg Sp. z o.o.

Jacek Cichocki - Deputy President for Development in the Board of the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports S.A.

Maciej Matczak - PhD, Associate Professor at the Gdynia Maritime Academy

Władysław Jaszowski - discussion moderator

Sea Ports Panel

 

The legal standing of the Polish sailors as well as career opportunities were the leading topics discussed during the Ship Management panel. The panel leader was Piotr Masny, the General Director of Seatrans Ship Management Poland sp. z o.o., a Member of the Board of the Polish Ship Managers’ Association. The panel guests were:

Dorota Arciszewska-Mielewczyk - member of Parliament [Sejm]; Chairperson of the Maritime Economy and Inland Waterways Commission.

Wojciech Ślączka, PhD, Master Mariner, Eng., Associate Professor at the Maritime Academy in Szczecin, Rector of the Maritime Academy in Szczecin

Waldemar Perchel - President of the Board at Dohle Marine Services Europe; member of the Council at APMAR - Association of Polish Manning Agents and Recruiters.

Dariusz Jellonek - Director General at V. Ships Poland Sp. z o.o.; member of the Polish Ship Managers’ Association.

Ship Management panel

 

ACCOMPANYING EVENTS

 

“Innovations from the Sea” exhibition

One of the events accompanying this year’s Maritime Economy Forum Gdynia is an exhibition entitled “Innovations from the sea”, dealing with 10 projects implemented by Pomeranian entrepreneurs. The presented projects may be considered to be Polish “flagships”, confirming that domestic companies representing the maritime industry successfully manufacture innovative products on an international scale. During the Forum the exhibition was held on the 1st floor of the PPNT Conference Centre, and the following day it was relocated to the Gdynia InfoBox, where it will remain until 29 October. The exhibition is accompanied by a promotional film, introducing four of the most interesting projects. The projects included in the exhibition are the following:

- Fins EXOFIN, Exofin Sp. z o.o.

- Mooring winches and anchor-mooring winches, Towimor SA

- STEWART, the inspection mobile underwater robot, Gdansk University of Technology

- Autonomous underwater vehicle ALBATROS, Gdansk University of Technology

- Heavy lift jack-up barge Zourite (NB105), CRIST S.A.

- Hybrid ferry P310 ELEKTRA, CRIST S.A.

- Submerged Sal with Yoke, Energomontaż-Północ Gdynia Sp. z o.o.

- the LNG power system, Remontowa LNG Systems Sp. z o.o.

- 40 Open Sunreef Power, Sunreef Yachts SA

- HAMER technology and hydraulic power units, HYDROMEGA Sp. z o.o.

“Innovations from the Sea” exhibition

 

Study Visits

Study visits at the Gdynia maritime industry companies targeted senior grades gymnasium students, who are faced with the task of selecting their senior high school. Their aim was to present students with the career choices in the maritime sector in order to generate interest in this specific field of study, thus giving them an opportunity to find an interesting and satisfying future career.

The maritime industry in the Tri-city is growing rapidly, guaranteeing stable employment and opportunities for steady professional and personal development. Nowadays, it is not just shipyards and handling terminals, but also offices developing innovative technologies applied at sea and expertly managed logistic and freight forwarding companies. It also includes companies which manage fleets of ship owners from all over the world as well as classification and certification associations guaranteeing safe working conditions at sea.

Study visits took place on the 4th October 2017 between 9:00 and 15:30. During their course, a group of gymnasium students had the opportunity to observe work at the following companies: DNV GL, STAL Complex, CRIST S.A. and BCT Baltic Container Terminal. The students were also given prospectuses with the educational offering of the vocational training schools in Gdynia. The study visits were attended by 30 students together with their guardians from the Lech Wałęsa Gymnasium No. 1 in Reda.

Youths during a study visit in CRIST S.A. Shipyard