2016-08-22

Ship Management promotion

There are no legal or systemic restrictions to opening to ship management in Poland. This is a classic service offer targeting foreign units, basing on specific principles and requiring specific knowledge – claims the board of the Polish Ship Managers Association (PZZS).

In order to open up to ship management, we need ship, and the majority of shipowners operate abroad rather than in Poland. Encouraging them to establish such companies in our country is however not than complex. In the face of the current crisis in shipping, numerous shipowners have sought solutions to facilitate their activity. They have come to a conclusion that they shouldn’t be employing Polish workers in Norway, when they could be opening a division in Poland and employing them on the spot. The first step in convincing them to make this decision is to promote knowledge of that activity being already conducted in Poland, and being conducted well. We still have considerable potential in this area.

What is interesting, when works on the foundation of PZZS were commenced (at the turn of 2014 and 2015), it was indicated that there were more companies of this type, operating in Poland, than one would suspect, and that the volume of their activity was much larger than anticipated. It included technical management, IT management, insurance services, ship navigation and servicing. This was a surprise to everyone, as it turned out that many independently operating people had already come up with the idea of ship management. This only proves the thesis that, without any marketing or promotion, basin on typical market criteria of demand and supply, the availability of human resources and infrastructure, a part of the shipowners assumed that Poland was the right place to conduct such activity.

However, for many shipping companies seeking alternative solutions to their current activity, the activity of ship management companies in our country could be a surprise. According to PZZS heads, many of them are still unaware that Poland could be an option, a direction worthy of their attention. This is where shipping professionals come handy, as it is their role to promote knowledge of ship management in Poland, particularly since the process is the driving force of the economy, as it involves e.g. our shipyards or service companies.

One of the panels of the 2016 Maritime Economy Forum in Gdynia will be devoted to the subject of ship management.

Photography: Tadeusz Urbaniak/ZMPG-a S.A