PŻB awaits ARP funding as liquidity crunch deepens ahead of month-end payments

Polish ferry operator Polska Żegluga Bałtycka (PŻB) is facing an acute liquidity squeeze, with no funds available for day-to-day payments as of 13 May and overdue liabilities estimated at around PLN70m ($17.7m), according to a letter from Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure. A long-term loan from the Industrial Development Agency (ARP) is expected to cover a substantial share of the arrears before the end of May, but the company’s longer-term business model remains unresolved.

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18 may 2026   |   10:03   |   Source: Gazeta Morska   |   Prepared by: Kamil Kusier   |   Print

fot. Polska Żegluga Bałtycka

Ministry confirms cash flow crisis

In a letter dated 13 May and addressed to Kacper Płażyński, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Arkadiusz Marchewka acknowledged that PŻB is struggling with “significant payment delays from its customers”.

The document further states that, due to an “ongoing decline in transport volumes and revenues observed for a prolonged period”, the company currently lacks sufficient cash to meet ongoing obligations.

The wording is notable because it marks the first explicit confirmation from the ministry overseeing the state-owned ferry operator that PŻB’s difficulties are not the result of a temporary payment bottleneck, but rather reflect a longer-term deterioration in operating performance.

Three-pillar rescue package

According to the ministry, the company plans to settle outstanding liabilities by 31 May using three sources of liquidity.

The first and most important is a long-term PLN45m loan from Poland’s Industrial Development Agency (ARP). ARP announced approval of the financing on 9 April, with a maturity of up to 72 months, designed to complement the company’s existing bank financing arrangements.

However, despite the announcement more than a month ago, the funds had not yet been disbursed as of 13 May. The ministry notes that release of the financing requires coordination with lending banks, with PŻB expecting the funds to be unlocked in mid-May.

The second pillar is forecast operating inflows of approximately PLN25.2m, expected from sales of goods and materials, charter revenues from POLSCA S.A. and an Algerian charterer, as well as collection of overdue receivables from first-quarter cargo operations.

The third component is a prioritised repayment schedule, with port liabilities to be settled first, followed by tax and other public obligations, and finally remaining commercial creditors.

Funding gap remains tight

The ministry’s letter does not specify the total size of PŻB’s overdue liabilities. Those figures were disclosed separately by committee chairman Płażyński, who stated that the company’s liabilities total approximately PLN70m, including PLN16m owed to the State Treasury.

If confirmed, the numbers suggest the ARP loan alone will not fully resolve the issue. At PLN45m, the facility covers less than two-thirds of the reported arrears, leaving roughly PLN25m to be generated from internal cash inflows.

This makes the success of the rescue plan highly dependent on rapid collection of receivables, a notable risk factor given the company’s own admission that delayed customer payments are already contributing to its liquidity problems.

Refinancing rather than restructuring

The ministry document outlines a short-term refinancing operation rather than a broader restructuring strategy. In practical terms, PŻB’s immediate goal is to replace short-term overdue liabilities with longer-dated debt to ARP, stretching repayment obligations over as much as six years.

This means that, while the company could technically eliminate overdue liabilities by early June, the underlying business issues that generated the cash crisis may remain intact.

Notably absent from the letter are any details regarding post-May restructuring measures, cost optimisation, route rationalisation, fleet deployment strategy or a roadmap for restoring sustainable profitability.

There is also no reference to shareholder oversight, despite the Polish State Treasury being the sole owner of the company.

Strategic assets remain in play

Despite the financial stress, PŻB remains strategically important within Poland’s ferry sector.

In 2025, the company joined Polska Żegluga Morska (PŻM) and EuroAfrica in establishing POLSCA Baltic Ferries, a consolidation vehicle intended to strengthen the competitive position of Polish ferry operators against German and Scandinavian rivals.

At the same time, a new LNG-powered ro-pax vessel is under construction for PŻB at Gdańsk-based Remontowa Shipbuilding under the Polish Ferries programme, which has received state backing totalling PLN1.3bn.

The contrast is stark: while PŻB is currently dependent on emergency liquidity support, it is also a beneficiary of one of the largest strategic fleet renewal programmes in the domestic ferry market.

Market focus shifts to end-May execution

The credibility of the ministry’s plan will now depend on execution over the coming two weeks. Three milestones will determine whether PŻB has stabilised its position: disbursement of ARP funds, successful collection of the projected PLN25.2m in internal inflows, and settlement of port and public liabilities by month-end.

A successful execution would buy the operator time heading into the summer peak season on Scandinavian routes.

Failure, however, would likely escalate the issue from a liquidity event into a broader operational and governance crisis for Poland’s second-largest ferry operator.

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