Maritime Office orders new buoy tender from Wulkan Shipyard for over PLN 30 million

The contract was officially announced on Tuesday by Deputy Minister Marchewka, Director of the Maritime Office in Szczecin Wojciech Zdanowicz, and Radosław Kowalczyk, CEO of Wulkan Shipyard.

The 30-meter buoy tender, designed for placing and maintaining navigational aids on the Szczecin–Świnoujście fairway, as well as on the Szczecin and Kamień Lagoons, will replace the aging Galaktyka, which has been in service for 51 years. The vessel is to be completed within 18 months at a cost of PLN 30.5 million.

Marchewka noted that the project is a concrete example of repolonising the economy. It is a state-funded investment commissioned by a Polish authority and executed by a Polish shipyard, in cooperation with local subcontractors from Szczecin and the surrounding region. He added that this move supports the local shipbuilding industry, with design and engineering services also sourced from regional firms.

Director Zdanowicz explained that the Maritime Office is responsible for maintaining over 200 fixed navigational signs and more than 300 buoys. On the Szczecin–Świnoujście route alone there are approximately 120 fixed markers and 200 buoys.

Buoys are anchored, floating aids shaped like cones or spheres. They are used to mark shipping channels, hazardous areas, and waterway boundaries.

Currently, the Maritime Office operates the vessels Galaktyka and Syriusz in Szczecin, and Planeta I and Malwina I in Świnoujście. The new unit will become the second largest in the Office’s fleet and will serve as the flagship for Szczecin.

In addition to buoy handling, the vessel will be ice-class certified. It will be capable of independent navigation in severe ice conditions, serving fairway maintenance and icebreaking needs. It will also support port fire safety operations, transport personnel for maintenance and repairs, and carry significant cargo loads. It will be equipped to handle two buoys weighing up to 4.5 tonnes simultaneously.

The ship will be constructed on the grounds of the state-owned Wulkan Shipyard, formerly the site of the Szczecin Shipyard — once the largest shipbuilding complex in the region.

According to CEO Radosław Kowalczyk, Wulkan has full steel production capabilities, one of the largest ship painting facilities in Europe, and the infrastructure needed to build and launch the vessel. Most of the work is expected to be done in-house, with strong support from the private sector.

Confirmed subcontractors include Szczecin-based Elektryka Morska and Seatech Engineering of Gdańsk, which is responsible for the vessel’s design.

Wulkan previously built a 235-meter floating dock for the Gryfia Ship Repair Yard in Szczecin. It now operates within the Szczecin Industrial Park, which was established after the closure of Szczecin Shipyard SA and once housed dozens of private firms.