Dar Młodzieży in New York's grand parade of sail - but clouds gather over its successor

Hundreds of thousands of spectators along the Hudson, the world's largest sailing ships and warships from twenty nations, and the white-and-red ensign in the heart of New York – on 4 July 2026 the Polish training frigate Dar Młodzieży took part in the International Parade of Sail, the culmination of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence. The occasion coincided with the 44th anniversary of the first raising of the ensign on the Polish frigate. Yet a question over the future hangs over the maritime festivities: the Rector of Gdynia Maritime University himself admits this may be the ship's last transatlantic voyage – and the tender for her successor has just fallen flat.

business education maritime economy investments yachting industry shipbuilding industry tricity news sailing

05 july 2026   |   19:00   |   Source: Gazeta Morska   |   Prepared by: Michał Iwański   |   Print

fot. Bogdan Klich / X

A parade the Hudson has not seen for years

The spectacle began after 10:00 local time and ran from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, past the Statue of Liberty, to the George Washington Bridge. Along the roughly 16-nautical-mile route, the world's largest sailing ships and warships from twenty countries were on show, with an added attraction in an aerobatic display by the US Navy's Blue Angels. The Polish training frigate from Gdynia was among the tall ships.

On board Dar Młodzieży were representatives of Gdynia Maritime University (UMG): Rector Professor Adam Weintrit, the Chairman of the University Council Sławomir Kalicki and the Director of the Shipowner and Maritime Practice Department, Master Mariner Dariusz Jellonnek, together with more than a hundred student-trainees and the crew. For the university it was a double jubilee – the climax of the American 250th-anniversary celebrations and the 44th anniversary of the raising of the white-and-red ensign, first flown on Dar Młodzieży on 4 July 1982. After the parade the frigate moored at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal (Pier 91), where she was open to visitors from 5 to 7 July.

"Perhaps the last such voyage"

Rector Weintrit made no secret of the special significance the New York parade holds for Poland's oldest maritime university. He recalled that exactly half a century earlier, during the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of US independence, the crew of Dar Pomorza – the university's training ship at the time – had taken part in a similar voyage. He called the Gdynia frigate's presence in this year's parade a symbol of the continuity of Polish maritime traditions, and Dar Młodzieży's calls at American ports an opportunity to meet the local Polish community.

His remarks, however, carried a note that went beyond the festive mood. The Rector admitted that we may be witnessing this ship's last transatlantic voyage. That is no coincidence: Dar Młodzieży, launched in 1981, has been training future merchant-fleet officers for more than four decades, and the university has long been seeking a successor. Following a class-renewal overhaul carried out over the turn of 2025 and 2026, the frigate is set to remain in service for around five more years – but that is, by its nature, a stopgap.

A tender becalmed: the 2028 deadline in doubt

And here lies the problem. The tender announced on 23 April 2026 for the design and construction of Dar Młodzieży's successor – run under a "design-and-build" formula – has ended without a result. According to reports, not a single bid was submitted, even though interest had been expected from the Tri-City yards: Remontowa Shipbuilding, CRIST and the state-owned Baltic Industrial Group with Gdańsk Shipyard. The deadline for bids was in fact extended – originally to 25 May, then, in view of questions from potential contractors, to 1 July. Even so, the inbox stayed empty.

The university has announced a further procurement procedure. The reasons for the failure remain open – price or the scope of requirements are among the possibilities. The order named a figure of 350 million PLN, although a few months earlier there had been talk of allocating close to 400 million PLN to the ship's construction. The crucial question, though, concerns the timetable. Under the original schedule, the fully equipped successor was to be handed over to the university in 2028, with cadet training on the new vessel starting in 2029. The absence of a contractor at this stage makes meeting the 2028 deadline increasingly uncertain. The one comfort is that, thanks to the recent overhaul, Dar Młodzieży can sail for several more years, so there is no immediate training gap for now – but the margin is shrinking.

It is worth noting that this is the situation as of early July 2026; the university is analysing what has happened and preparing a new tender, so the picture may change quickly.

What the successor is to be

The new vessel is to be a direct successor to Dar Młodzieży – a modern, three-masted frigate, slightly larger than her predecessor. According to the specification, her overall length including the bowsprit will be around 112 metres (against 108.8 m for the present frigate), with a basic sail area of at least 3,300 m² (against 3,015 m²) and masts reaching 58.4 metres. The ship will have mechanical-hybrid propulsion of around 1,300 kW and a speed of up to about 12 knots under power, together with an ice class and modern navigation and communications systems. She is designed to carry 169 people, including 33 crew and around 120 cadets.

The investment is financed from the state budget under the Multi-Year Programme "Construction of Ships for Maritime Universities 2025-2029", which covers the sailing ship for Gdynia (350 million PLN) and a vessel for the Maritime University of Technology in Szczecin. The construction of new training ships in Polish yards, announced back in May 2025, was meant to be a source of pride for the domestic industry. The empty tender shows that the road from declaration to keel-laying can be longer than the calendar assumed.

Pride abroad, uncertainty at home

The New York parade was a reminder of how powerful a symbol of Poland at sea Dar Młodzieży remains – and how deeply she is woven into a tradition reaching back to Dar Pomorza. At the same time, the failed tender showed that the future of that tradition is far from settled. The coming months – a further procedure and decisions by the university and the ministry – will show whether the successor makes it into service on time, or whether 2028 will have to be moved to a later watch.

Buy us a coffee, and we’ll invest in great maritime journalism! Support Gazeta Morska and help us sail forward – click here!

Dar Młodzieży Uniwersytet Morski w Gdyni parada żaglowców Nowy Jork 2026 następca Daru Młodzieży przetarg żaglowiec

comments

---

enter content

COMMENT

nick

Add the first comment