Polish shipbuilding industry and shipowners will cooperate closely
On April 9, 2025, the General Assembly of Members of the Association of Polish Maritime Industries FORUM OKRĘTOWE was held. The venue of the Assembly was the REMONTOWA Shipbuilding shipyard in Gdańsk, and one of the topics was strengthening cooperation between the Polish shipbuilding industry and shipowners.
The meeting was attended by invited guests: Secretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure Arkadiusz Marchewka, Pomeranian Voivode Beata Rutkiewicz, Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Mieczysław Struk, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Maritime Economy Kacper Płażyński, Rector of the Maritime University in Gdynia Prof. Adam Weintrit and Director of the Maritime Department in the Ministry of Infrastructure Paweł Krężel.
During the meeting, representatives of the Polish shipbuilding industry and shipowners decided to cooperate closely on the maritime industrial strategy of the European Union being developed, which was expressed in the adopted “Declaration of Cooperation” signed by the Presidents of the Association of Polish Maritime Industries FORUM OKRETOWE Adam Ruszkowski, the Polish Shipowners’ Association Dariusz Doskocz and the Polish Shipping Companies Association Dariusz Jellonnek.
Commenting on the signed Declaration, its signatories said:
– Our organizations actively participate in Brussels in lobbying for their sectors: FORUM OKRETOWE in SEA Europe and Polish shipowners’ organizations in ECSA, and this creates a field for cooperation between us, because many competences in the area of maritime economy have been delegated to the European Union. Coordination of our activities in Brussels is therefore in our common interest. Meetings and discussions planned in the future will serve to better understand our own needs and opportunities, and this should result in deeper cooperation. Our common goal is to promote interests and create favorable conditions for the development of Polish shipowners, shipping companies and the shipbuilding industry in Poland – said the President of the Association of Polish Maritime Industries FORUM OKRETOWE Adam Ruszkowski.
– In today’s world, when geopolitical issues influence the fate of global trade and at the same time a real revolution is taking place in the maritime industry in terms of ship propulsion, close cooperation between shipowners and shipyards seems to be of primary importance. The right choice of construction and repair shipyard can determine the future of a shipowner for decades to come. In turn, cooperation between the shipowner and shipbuilding community regarding the application of new ecological solutions can bring development benefits to both parties. Such cooperation is also a signal that the marine environment of a given country is consolidated and is able to fight for its interests together on the international forum. We are proving this in the matter of the idea for EU financing of new pro-ecological solutions, where Polish shipowners and shipowners, through ECSA European Shipowners and Sea Europe, are effectively working to direct funds from climate fees to this purpose – said the President of the Polish Shipowners’ Association Dariusz Doskocz.
– Over a year ago, the Polish Shipping Companies Association joined forces with the Polish Shipowners’ Association and together they were accepted into the European Community Shipowners Association, where they represent Polish shipowners and shipping companies on the European level. This was the first milestone on the road to reviving the Polish Fleet. The next big step is the agreement signed with the FORUM OKRETOWE, which we hope will bring close cooperation between shipowners and the shipbuilding industry. Without shipyards there would be no ships, without ships there would be no shipyards, which is why it is so important for these two branches of the maritime economy to work together and support each other. Currently, the dynamic times in the global economy require us to cooperate closely and take actions together. I am very glad that this Declaration has been reached and I hope that in the near future we will see the fruits of this cooperation – said the President of the Polish Shipping Companies Association Dariusz Jellonnek.
Commenting on the signing of the “Declaration of Cooperation”, the director of the FORUM OKRĘTOWE Office, Irek Karaskiewicz, said
– The signed document is another step in our increasingly close cooperation. Previously, we created a joint stand at the Baltexpo 2023 Fair, a joint discussion panel during the Maritime Economy Forum 2024 in Gdynia and participated in meetings organized by our associations. Polish shipowners gave strong support in Brussels for the idea of the FORUM OKRĘTOWE included in the “Gdańsk Climate Initiative 2025” aimed at redirecting financial resources from EU ETS emission fees to decarbonization of the fleet carried out in European shipyards. The signed “Declaration of Cooperation” is the beginning of our closer cooperation.
– The position of the Association of Polish Maritime Industries FORUM OKRĘTOWE is clear: imposing financial burdens on shipowners and penalizing them for CO2 emissions – whether in the form of fees for the EU ETS or implied by the FuelEU Maritime regulations – in its current form is harmful to the decarbonization process itself, because it drains the pockets of shipowners of funds that could be directly used to reduce the emissions of their fleet. The “Gdańsk Climate Initiative 2025” is one of the ideas to get out of this impasse.
– The regulations included in the Fit for 55 climate package are, according to a growing group of experts, to be verified in the new strategy of the European Commission called the “Clean Industrial Deal”, aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the EU economy, including shipowners and the shipbuilding industry. We will work together on this.
„Gdańsk Climate Initiative 2025”
