The 23rd Maritime Economy Forum is behind us

The 23^rd Maritime Economy Forum – one of the most important maritime industry events in Poland – is behind us. This year’s edition attracted a large number of experts, representatives of business, science and public administration, who debated the challenges and opportunities for the maritime sector in the coming years.

They discussed the reconstruction of the shipbuilding industry in Poland and the EU solutions needed for this purpose. A block of three thematic panels was divided into issues related to seaports, maritime logistics, renewable energy, business in shipping, cyber security and autonomous shipping. Guests of honour at the 23^rd Maritime Economy Forum were Arkadiusz Marchewka, Minister of Infrastructure, Christophe Tytgat, Secretary General of SEA Europe and Janusz Lewandowski, MEP and former Minister of Ownership Transformation.

In his speech, the President of the Port of Gdynia, Piotr Gorzenski, spoke about the Red Road – a transport investment that conditions the development opportunities of both the port and the city. He stressed that this is a project that is needed today if we are serious about pursuing a strategy that will provide greater flexibility in the management of freight transport, but also strengthen the stability of our country, which is extremely important in these times.

President Piotr Gorzeński, referring to the Outer Port, recalled the contract signed at the beginning of October for the construction of protective breakwaters in the Port of Gdynia. This is a clear step towards the realisation of an idea that was born in the minds of port workers many years ago and whose rank and importance can only be compared to the very establishment of the Port of Gdynia over a century ago.

A surprising element of the Port of Gdynia CEO’s presentation to the audience was the live connection with the project manager, Grzegorz Bławat, directly from the future construction site. The manager explained to the audience gathered at the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park the practical aspects of the construction of the new breakwaters. “First, the so-called prefabrication process is implemented. It will take place directly at the quay. The box will be constructed on a special floating pontoon-dock. Each will be about 30-50 metres long. After prefabrication, the box will release the dock and be towed to its foundation site, where it will be backfilled with sand. The next stages are the construction of the breakwater crown. Our breakwaters have been designed to withstand a storm frequency of once every 100 years. These types of structures are designed for such conditions,” explained Grzegorz Bławat.

An important discussion turned out to be the thematic panel entitled. ‘The scope of autonomy of Port Authorities in the creation and implementation of the state’s port policy’, in which the Vice President of the Port of Gdynia, Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała, took the floor. The discussion’s moderator, Piotr Pawłowski, admitted at the end of the FGM that the unequivocal and substantive answers given by the representatives of the Port Authorities did not allow him to maintain his conviction that these boards should be renamed into – at most – administrative units. The Vice  President firmly emphasised the importance of the Red Road project and dispelled doubts about the reasons for the postponement of the tender for the Outer Port, thus pointing out what are today, in effective and stable management, the key elements of leaders’ strategies: the ability to listen and dialogue with investment partners in a dynamically changing reality and to apply, when the good of the project requires it, the Latin thought festina lente. The same one that has already secured success for the representatives of the Medici family.

This year’s edition of the Forum once again proved that Gdynia is an important centre of debates on the future of the maritime economy and it is here that experts who play a key role in shaping the strategic directions of the industry’s development meet.

The Port of Gdynia was a strategic partner of the event.

Photos: Tadeusz Urbaniak