Polish Navy Acquires Rescue Ship, Based on PLN 1 bn. Contract

An agreement between the Armaments Agency and a consortium consisting of Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, PGZ Stocznia Wojenna, and OBR CTM was signed on Friday at the Naval Academy in Gdynia. The contract covers the acquisition of a rescue ship, codenamed Ratownik, along with a logistics support package. The value of the contract exceeds 1 billion zlotys gross. The vessel, which will join the 3rd Ships Flotilla, is expected to be delivered by 2029.

The Ratownik will have a crew of 100, with the capacity to transport an additional nine people. The ship’s total length will be about 96 meters, its maximum width around 19 meters, and its maximum displacement, including additional equipment and hull, will be approximately 6,500 tons. Its range is set at around 6,000 nautical miles, with a maximum speed of about 16 knots.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz Deputy PM, Head of the Polish Ministry of Defence, who took part in the contract conclusion ceremony, was speaking about activities undertaken by, and capabilities required by the Navy. He referred to the damage to the EstLink2 cable on the Baltic Sea floor and the Finnish seizure of a Russian tanker suspected of causing the damage. “We must have complete knowledge and take appropriate steps. What steps? Strengthening Baltic security through Navy Policing, enhancing the protection of critical infrastructure, and actions like building new ships, including the Ratownik, which will assist us and our allies,” he told reporters.

Asked about other modernization programs, such as degaussing, hydrographic, and tanker ships, the minister assured that “the Navy is becoming our priority.” “We are working on modernizing the entire armed forces. We have a sense that sailors have been undervalued for many years, with the narrative being: good air force is enough, operations in the Baltic are not important. Recent events show how important it is to have ships with various capabilities, including defensive and rescue operations,” he said. He emphasized that the drone forces, set to launch on January 1, will also operate in the maritime domain. “Next year, there will be many contracts for drones, both surface and underwater. And of course, our goal is to sign the Orka contract.”

“We want to modernize the Ślązak so that the patrol corvette becomes a patrol-combatant corvette,” added Deputy Minister Paweł Bejda. He assured that the Ministry of Defense recognizes “the shortcomings and needs of the Navy.” “Believe me, they will be gradually addressed,” he stated.

Navy Modernization

The signing of this contract marks another attempt at acquiring a rescue ship. In December 2017, a contract was signed for a vessel with similar parameters to the Ratownik planned in the current agreement. However, the contract was canceled in 2020 due to cost concerns. The following year, the Ministry announced the delivery of a rescue ship to the Navy in 2024. Currently, the Navy operates two rescue ships: ORP Piast and ORP Lech; which have been in service for half a century.

When asked why the deal succeeded this time, Kosiniak-Kamysz replied: “We are in charge, and we are the guarantee that it will succeed. Poles have decided so, and we report the progress of the transformation of the Polish army.” He noted that by the end of the year, the number of contracts signed by the Armaments Agency will exceed 140, with a total value of 150 billion zlotys. “Those who, for many weeks, months, almost every day, said that the army would shrink, units would be dissolved, and there would be no acquisitions, I would like them to retract those statements. They were doing this intentionally, unable to accept that we are providing the largest military budget in history, 50 billion more than in 2023,” said the Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Polish People’s Party (PSL). He added that the Armed Forces Support Fund “is already much larger and more utilized than in the last year of the previous government.” And not all of the agreements have been signed at this point.