White and red at sea. Is Poland returning to the global shipping game?

Arkadiusz Marchewka, Poland’s Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, stood before the Polish Parliament holding a national ensign removed more than two decades ago from the last vessel operated by the Polish Ocean Lines fleet. The gesture was symbolic, but its meaning reached far beyond parliamentary theatrics. It reopened a debate that Poland’s maritime sector has been avoiding for years - whether a country with nearly 800 kilometers of coastline, thousands of seafarers and a long shipping tradition can still consider itself a serious maritime nation without a fleet sailing under its own flag.

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29 may 2026   |   19:49   |   Source: Gazeta Morska   |   Prepared by: Kamil Kusier   |   Print

fot. Bartosz Nehring / Kancelaria Sejmu

Alongside the presentation of new legislative proposals aimed at reviving the Polish flag at sea, the government has launched what may become the country’s most ambitious attempt in decades to rebuild the competitiveness of the Polish registry.

The diagnosis presented by Marchewka is difficult to dispute. Since the 1990s, operating vessels under the Polish flag has simply become economically unattractive. Polish shipowners, like many across Europe, moved their vessels to foreign registries offering lower taxation, cheaper labor structures and more flexible regulatory frameworks. Malta, Cyprus, Liberia and the Bahamas did not dominate global shipping registers by accident. Maritime business follows efficiency, and shipping capital remains among the most mobile forms of capital in the world economy.

For this reason, the government’s proposal should not be viewed as revolutionary. In many respects, it is Poland’s delayed attempt to adapt to standards already functioning across Europe’s major maritime economies.

Tonnage tax instead of corporate tax

The cornerstone of the proposed reform is a significant reduction in fiscal burdens imposed on shipowners. Instead of the standard corporate income tax system, shipping companies operating under the Polish flag would be able to use a tonnage tax regime similar to those already implemented across Europe.

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, the financial difference could be dramatic. A large bulk carrier that today might generate tax liabilities measured in hundreds of thousands of zlotys would under the new system pay only a fraction of that amount annually. Government representatives argue that the planned rates for core merchant fleet vessels could become among the lowest in Europe - potentially lower than those currently offered by Malta, Cyprus or Croatia.

From an industry perspective, this logic is entirely understandable. Global shipping has operated for decades within an environment where states actively compete for ship registrations. In practice, shipowners can relocate vessels between registries relatively quickly if another jurisdiction offers more favorable operating conditions.

However, taxation alone does not build a strong maritime registry.

Successful shipping registers are built over decades through regulatory stability, administrative efficiency, international credibility and financial infrastructure supporting maritime operations. Competitive taxes may attract attention, but long-term confidence requires considerably more.

The seafarer question

Another major element of the reform package focuses on Polish seafarers themselves. The ministry argues that the current tax system discourages employment under the national flag, particularly because of the well-known "183-day rule", which determines eligibility for tax exemptions based on time spent at sea.

Under the present framework, seafarers who fail to meet the required threshold - sometimes by only a few days - may suddenly face substantially higher tax burdens than colleagues employed under foreign registries. In practice, this often pushes experienced officers and crews toward foreign employers.

The government now proposes solutions modeled on maritime systems already functioning in countries such as Malta, Cyprus and Portugal, where seafarers benefit from extensive tax relief or full exemptions from personal income tax.

Again, this is not an unusual approach in the global maritime industry. Maritime nations have long understood that shipping sovereignty without domestic crews is largely an illusion. Officers, engineers and captains cannot be recreated overnight once a country loses them.

Shipping as a strategic asset

Perhaps the strongest part of Marchewka’s argument concerns national security.

For years, shipping policy in many European states was treated primarily as an economic issue. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the growing instability of global trade routes have changed that perception dramatically. Maritime logistics has once again become a strategic matter.

The Deputy Minister pointed directly to NATO analyses indicating that civilian merchant vessels operating under national registries may become critical during military crises by supporting the transport of equipment, supplies and strategic cargo.

This argument is far from theoretical.

History repeatedly demonstrates that merchant fleets are indispensable during wartime. Modern military logistics depends not only on naval forces, but also on commercial shipping capacity. The United States, the United Kingdom and Norway all maintain systems supporting national shipping capabilities precisely because merchant fleets remain part of broader strategic resilience.

At the same time, the modern shipping industry operates through highly complex ownership and financing structures. Flag registration alone does not automatically guarantee full state control over vessels in crisis situations. Ownership models, leasing arrangements, insurance systems and international contractual obligations all influence operational availability.

Still, the strategic value of maintaining a national maritime registry is no longer seriously questioned in most major maritime economies.

More than a tax reform

Yet there is another dimension often absent from political declarations.

Poland’s maritime decline was not caused solely by taxation. Over the last three decades, the country gradually lost much of its deep-sea commercial fleet, large-scale private shipowners and much of the financial ecosystem surrounding international shipping. Unlike Greece, Denmark or Germany, Poland failed to develop globally influential maritime capital structures capable of competing on international markets.

This means that the current reform package should be viewed less as a restoration of past maritime power and more as an attempt to stop further erosion.

Still, the political importance of the discussion itself should not be underestimated. Around the world, governments are once again beginning to think in terms of resilience, supply chain security and strategic control over transport infrastructure. In that environment, the question of whether the white-and-red flag remains visible on global sea lanes carries significance beyond sentiment or historical nostalgia.

The challenge now is ensuring that the national ensign does not become another temporary political symbol.

Because the Polish flag at sea cannot belong to any political party, any government or any ideological camp. It must remain above politics - as a symbol of the state itself, its continuity, responsibility and maritime ambition.

And if Poland truly wishes to remain a maritime nation, then restoring the dignity and global presence of its national flag is not a matter of political branding. It is a national obligation.

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