On the last day of February 2024, the ribbon was officially cut on one of the most important investments on the Polish offshore map - the Offshore Center of the Gdynia Maritime University, which already operates... in Gdańsk.

The Offshore Center of Gdynia Maritime University is a modern facility built from scratch at ul. De Plelo 20 in Gdańsk, with a 500-meter quay and specialized research laboratories for the offshore industry. The Maritime Institute will also operate in the building.

The construction of the Offshore Center officially began in 2021, and the permit to use the facility was obtained in November 2023. Since then, the rooms have been furnished. The general contractor of the investment was Budimex, and the construction cost was nearly PLN 64 million. The project partner was MEWO S.A.

Importantly, the Offshore Center has direct access to the 500-meter-long Wisłoujście Quay, thanks to which the operations at sea carried out by UMG and the Maritime Institute will be more effective. Guests participating in the ceremony could admire and visit the vessels moored at the quay: the IMOR marine laboratory (a ship belonging to the Maritime Institute), the UMG Horyzont II training ship and the new acquisition of MEWO - the Amber Agatha vessel.

The Offshore Center was officially opened on February 29, 2024, although work on specific projects was already underway in some laboratories. The opening ceremony itself attracted a large number of figures related to the offshore sector, politics at the local level and beyond, and the maritime economy in general. The guests were welcomed by the host - the rector of the Maritime University of Gdynia, PhD, DSc(Eng), MM, AdamWeintrit.

After the official speeches of the invited guests, everyone went outside. There, the ribbon was ceremonially cut, symbolically opening the facility.

– The Maritime Institute, which is part of the Gdynia Maritime University, has been working for such energy giants as PGE and Orlen for many, many years. Currently, we have a very large contract related to one of the wind farms. This job is just waiting. More wind farms are being commissioned, they are handed over to Orlen and PGE, and they usually ask us to conduct environmental tests, because this is what we know. However, we do not know everything, therefore the consortiums that are formed often consist of a dozen or several dozen partners, larger or smaller companies. And we try to be leaders in this – Weintrit said. The Rector emphasized that the key is the location, allowing access to the waterfront. – We have access to the sea here, our ships that normally operate in Gdynia can sail. A ship makes money when it is at sea. If it's standing here at the quay, we're incurring losses. Immediately after these celebrations, the ships return to their work, which they perform every day, 365 days a year – said the Rector.

As Stefan Rudnik, Director of the Investment Division at the Port of Gdańsk Authority, emphasized in an interview with GospodarkaMorska.pl, the Wiślane Quay now has its own important user.

– For the Port of Gdańsk, this is a way to use the quay, which we rebuilt in 2020, in a complementary way. Using our infrastructure, we can build our local content by educating staff, here at the Offshore Center. As we can see, vessels of the Institute and the University are already mooring outside the window, so we will use this infrastructure in such synergy – said Rudnik.

The reconstruction of the quay itself was carried out by the Port of Gdańsk Authority as part of a larger project. Thanks to it, with support from EU funds, it was possible to deepen a total of 7 kilometers of the waterway and rebuild 5 kilometers of quays.

– Six years ago, this particular quay was a slope quay without a mooring facility. Currently, we have 457 linear meters of quay with a mooring function, which can be used for the purposes of the new offshore center of the Maritime Institute – said Stefan Rudnik.

In turn, Deputy Minister Arkadiusz Marchewka, in an interview with our website, emphasized the need to build human resources for the new economic sector.

– With the development of new industries, specialists are needed. This cannot be done without appropriate education, without educational centers, secondary schools and universities that will educate future maritime management staff. I am convinced that places such as the Gdynia Maritime University, such as the Center that we have opened today, will be a real breeding ground for specialists who will have qualifications that will mean something not only here in the Baltic Sea, but all over the world. It is extremely important to focus on education. Just as we educate specialists, over time we will be able to reap the fruits of their hard work and professionalism – said Marchewka.