MARITIME ECONOMY IN POLAND – MARKET FLASH
GENERAL INFORMATION
Poland is a large Central European country with the population of 38,5 mln and GDP of 480 billion USD (2015).
Poland is member to European Union and NATO.
Poland’s shoreline (Baltic Sea) of about 770 km accommodates 4 major sea ports and significant shipbuilding industry capable of delivering complete, advanced ships. Relatively low labor costs matched with very good competences of the employees make Polish companies valuable partners and encourages foreign investors (incl. global brands like Damen, Rolls-Royce, Wartsila, Lockheed-Martin, Kongsberg, Siem, Arcelormittal, Thales).
Poland is also home to one of the biggest yacht and pleasure vessel industries in Europe. One of the highest rates of development, experienced currently in Poland, supports import of advanced solutions for the maritime industry (cargo handling equipment, shipyard equipment, on-board equipment etc.) to Poland.
GOVERNMENT PLANS, LEGISLATION AND INVESTMENTS
Maritime sector development is a priority of the Polish Government. Several new legislative initiatives and projects aiming at shipbuilding industry development, new ships’ orders, development of harbor infrastructure, inland waterways, oil and gas handling and transport infrastructure and maritime security are proceeded. Among them, a special taxation policy coming into power on January 1st, 2017, will allow for significant development of shipbuilding industry and cooperating branches. Polish Government also aims at facilitation of access to Polish ports, including inland waterways and railways, to increase Poland’s role as a logistics hub for the Central and Eastern Europe. Among significant state investments, those related to maritime energy infrastructure are particularly interesting, including offshore wind, oil and LNG terminals, oil and gas mining from beneath the seabed and pipeline connecting Poland to Denmark and Norway.
SHIPBUILDING AND SHIPREPAIRS
New ships are being ordered and delivered for the Polish shipowners, incl. bulk cargo vessels and large (over 220-meter long) ferries. The total income of the shipyard sector in Poland in 2015 is estimated at approximately 2757 million USD, of which 1004 million USD in newbuilding and repair yards. According to Forum Okrętowe Association of Polish Maritime Industries (member of SEA Europe), Polish shipyards have delivered 7 fully completed ships (with gross tonnage of 100 and over), with total CGT of 33564. In 2015, 610 ships were repaired in Polish shipyards (growth of 1,8%) In 2014, there was over 5200 business entities in Poland involved in various shipbuilding related activity, incl. yachts production and equipment.
HARBOUR DEVELOPMENT AND LOGISTICS
There are four main harbours – Gdańsk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Świnoujście. The cargo handling capacity of Polish harbours – primarily when it comes to container terminals and developing oil and gas handling facilities, with total cargo operations in 2015 of about 69,7 million tons – makes Poland future logistics hub for the region. Poland is one of the most rapidly developing countries of Central and Eastern Europe when it comes to transport infrastructure, due to the vast public and private investment programs within harbour infrastructure, railways, highways and inland waterways. The Polish Government supports development of this sector within numerous investment projects, including new shipping route through Vistula Spit and new LNG terminal which has just been completed in Świnoujście. Special legal regulations also facilitate harbour operations and encourage shipowners and agents to direct their cargo through Polish harbours. The total estimated value of harbour investments by 2020 exceeds 2,8 billion USD.
MARITIME ECONOMY
IN POLAND – MARKET FLASH
ENERGY SECTOR – MARITIME DIMENSION
Crude oil and gas mining beneath the seabed, along with transportation of oil and gas using tankers or pipelines is a very up-to-date topic to discuss within the North and Baltic Seas context, as both economic and political based declarations make significant further investments in this sector inevitable.
Additionally, other related issues – particularly general offshore infrastructure and its security – fuels several sectors of the economy. Not only highly specialised cable layers and offshore wind farm construction vessels are produced in Polish shipyards, but also number of public investments in seaborne infrastructure of energy sector makes it promising for foreign companies – investors, equipment producers etc. – to take a careful look into business opportunities in Poland.
NETWORKING AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
BALTEXPO International Exhibition and Conference is the biggest and the oldest networking event in Poland, among economic events related to broadly understood maritime economy: shipbuilding industry and its related parties, ports and logistics associated to the use of the maritime and inland waterways transportation and the security of coasts, ports and navigation. The nearest BALTEXPO will be held on 11-13 September 2017.
BALTEXPO gathers approx. 300 companies and over 4000 visitors from 14 countries (2015), with the exhibition space up to 12.000 sq.m..
In connection with the new Polish economic development program, special emphasis is placed on the development of maritime industries, shipbuilding, offshore – extraction of oil and gas from under the seabed, the development of ports and port services as well as energy security in the maritime dimension. Exhibition and Conference is an excellent place to exchange views and establish economic relations aimed at economic cooperation between the countries.
Detailed information on BALTEXPO 2017 is available at: www.baltexpo.ztw.pl
