Bursztyn Unity to raise the Polish flag, but crew terms remain an open question

A Polish-built ferry for the Swinoujscie-Ystad route

Bursztyn Unity was built by Gdańska Stocznia Remontowa im. J. Piłsudskiego, part of Remontowa Holding, and handed over to Polskie Promy on 23 October. The 195.6-metre, 32.2-metre-wide ship offers 4,100 lane metres and space for 400 passengers, with a crew of 50. Four LNG engines with battery support drive two azimuth pods for a top speed of 19 knots. She is the second of three ferries ordered under Poland's fleet renewal programme, for which the government has committed more than PLN 1.3 billion, with the third, Amber Unity, due in 2029.

The ship is due to berth at Wały Chrobrego in Szczecin on 9 November, with the christening and flag-raising ceremony on 11 November and public open days from 12 to 14 November. She will then join Jantar Unity on the Swinoujscie-Ystad route under the POLSCA Baltic Ferries brand shared by Unity Line, Polferries and Euroafrica.

- The ferry was designed by Polish engineers, built in a Polish shipyard, will serve a Polish shipowner and, importantly, will sail under the Polish flag - Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Arkadiusz Marchewka told the Polska Morska Forum in Szczecin.

From Limassol to Szczecin

The significance of the move is clearest against the first ship in the series. Jantar Unity, christened in Szczecin on 17 January 2026, is registered in Cyprus with Limassol as her home port, a decision that drew criticism and a parliamentary question noting that the first new ferry for a Polish owner in decades was flying a foreign flag.

Flags of convenience such as Cyprus, Malta and the Bahamas are standard practice in shipping, offering owners tax advantages, lower labour costs and simpler procedures. Warsaw is trying to close the gap with a package of measures for the Polish register, including a tonnage tax in place of corporate income tax, a personal income tax exemption for seafarers and digitalised registration procedures. Arkadiusz Marchewka has presented Bursztyn Unity as one of the first ships to benefit, and the Szczecin event organisers are billing the ceremony as the return of the Polish flag to the mast after 30 years.

The flag changes, but what about the crew?

For the people on board, the key question is who employs them and on what terms, and no public commitment has been made on that point. When recruiting for Bursztyn Unity, the operator advertised on-board accommodation and meals, training, a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off rota and wages paid in US dollars, a package typical of contracts with foreign manning companies.

The sensitivity of the issue is illustrated by Polska Żegluga Bałtycka. According to Polish news site zero.pl, Polferries seafarers work for a state-owned Polish company but sail on Bahamas-flagged ferries under contracts with a Cypriot subsidiary, meaning they are not formally Polish employees, and some complain of missing pension and health contributions.

It also remains unclear whether the regulations designed to make the Polish register competitive are fully in force. As recently as October, the operator told the portal Polski Przemysł that the decision on Bursztyn Unity's flag had not been taken by the POLSCA Baltic Ferries board. Three questions therefore remain ahead of 11 November: whether the crew will be employed by a Polish entity, whether they will be covered by the Polish social security system, and whether the Polish flag will stay on the mast for good.