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Industry

Building of a Ferry for the Polish Baltic Shipping Co. Officially Commences

Fot. msrgryfia.pl.
Fot. msrgryfia.pl.

Wulkan Nowy (New Volcano) ramp within the Stettin Industrial Park has been a location where keel has been laid, beginning the building works concerning a ro-pax ferry which is to be created at the  Szczecin yard for the Polish Baltic Shipping Co. company. The ferry is to be built by the Morska Stocznia Remontowa „Gryfia” [“Gryfia” Naval Shiprepair Yard], a part of the PGZ Group (Polish Armaments Group).

According to the Polish Armaments Group, Wulkan Nowy ramp located within the Stettin Industrial Park belonging to the Group is the location where a shipbuilding process began, concerning a passenger-vehicle ferry for the Polferries Polish Baltic Shipping Co entity. The works on the B 145-I/01 vessel are within the scope of responsibility of the MSR Gryfia company, belonging to the PGZ capital group.

- As the Polish shipowners need, according to varied estimates, from 6 to 10 new ferries to stand a competitive chance in a fight against foreign entities, the Polish economy is in need of smart reindustrialization. Within this process, we see space available for the Polish shipbuilding industry. The process of building specialized, high value vessels announced within the Strategy for Responsible Development, becomes reality. Batory, yet again, would set sail – as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Development and Finances, Mateusz Morawiecki, stated.

Minister Marek Gróbarczyk, also attending the ceremony, emphasized the significance of the project, when it comes to the process of recovering the status of the Polish shipyards and supporting the shipowners on the Baltic ferry market. We are making history here, the keel-laying for the first ferry for the PBS begins the process of reconstructing the whole Polish ferry fleet. Thus, in a consistent and determined manner we are implementing the governmental plan to reconstruct the shipbuilding industry which is to act as a driving wheel for the whole Polish economy - as it was stated by the Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation. 

Today, officially, we may initiate implementation of a project which would initiate a programme, the goal of which would be to revive the shipbuilding industry in Stettin. Going back to vessels so large is a challenge for us, since no project of scale which was so large has been pursued in Stettin for quite some time now. However, I am convinced that thanks to determination and expertise of the Management Boards of SPP and MSR Gryfia, and other MARS Group companies, the investment would be successful – as Konrad Konefał, board member at the MS Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych company belonging to the PGZ stated. The MS company has a managing power over the MARS group.

The ferry is going to be 202.4 m long and 30.8 m wide. With designed draft of 6.3 meters, the ship would be capable of attaining speeds of up to 18 knots. The new vessel will be able to carry 70 persons crew and 400 passengers. Thanks to the solutions applied, it is going to be a modern ship, compliant with all of the environmental requirements and norms. Ro-Pax will be fitted with electric-internal combustion drive, with LNG acting as the main fuel.  The ferry will be tailored for bunkering at the Świnoujście LNG terminal and at the Ystad harbour.  Piotr Żelazek and Marek Nowak of Westcon Design are the main designers of the vessel. At the further stages of the project, several renowned Polish design bureaus are also expected to be involved.  

This is a historic moment, opening a new chapter in the history of the Polferries  company. The new ferry will reinforce our fleet so that we can effectively compete on the international market – as it was stated by Piotr Redmerski, President of the Management Board at the Polish Baltic Shipping Co.

According to the adopted schedule, the first section-related works are to begin between 2017 and 2018. Then, in June 2018, ramp works would commence. Launching is planned to take place in 2019, with the ship scheduled to be handed off to its owner in 2020.  

President of the Gryfia yard, Marek Różalski, placed an emphasis on the symbolic meaning the keel laying entails. This beautiful, naval tradition is a very important moment in the shipbuilding process, marking the formal beginning of the works.

Expansion of the shipbuilding industry is one of the key elements of the governmental Plan for Responsible Development. The goal of the undertaken steps is to push the Polish shipyards towards construction of larger, highly specialized vessels, with simultaneous increase of competitiveness of the domestic ferry operators.

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