Baltic Sea maritime economy on the rise. Record investments in development and security

Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Arkadiusz Marchewka declared that Poland’s maritime economy will receive a major development boost – as much as 2.4 billion PLN has been allocated for this purpose in next year’s budget. The funds will be used to strengthen the role of Baltic ports in ensuring the country’s economic, food, and energy security.

What did we learn during the conference in Gdańsk?

At the conference held on Thursday in the Port of Gdańsk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski and Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Arkadiusz Marchewka took part. Both spoke about the important role of domestic ports, which supply not only Poland but also Ukraine.

Ports play an increasingly important role in ensuring security – not only economic, but also food and energy security. That is why the development of maritime infrastructure is one of the pillars of our budget policy, said Deputy Minister Marchewka during the conference.

Minister Sikorski also pointed out the need to increase security in the Baltic Sea: Undersea cables are being cut, as well as pipelines. The Baltic Sea is crossed by the Russian shadow fleet, which finances the criminal war in Ukraine.

These declarations are backed by money. The 2026 budget includes 2.4 billion PLN for investments in the maritime economy. This is 400 million more than this year, a clear signal that port infrastructure development is important for Poland.

Investments in the Port of Gdańsk: current and planned

In 2024, Polish ports set a record: 3.27 million TEU containers were handled there (1 TEU equals the capacity of 1 standard shipping container). That is 9 percent more than in the previous year.

The Port of Gdańsk, as the largest in Poland, had a significant share in this success – 2.2 million TEU were handled there. Thanks to the T3 terminal, opened in June 2025, its handling capacity increased by an additional 1.5 million TEU, from 3 to 4.5 million. Construction has also begun on a new grain terminal in Gdańsk, which – as Deputy Minister Marchewka emphasized – will be 100 percent state-owned.

Several investments are underway in the Port of Gdańsk to ensure greater energy security for Poland. Most importantly, a terminal for installing offshore wind farms is being built. From there, ships will depart carrying components needed for the construction of PGE’s wind farm in the Baltic Sea. The investment is expected to be completed by mid-2026.

At the same time, an FSRU-type floating LNG terminal is being developed in the Gulf of Gdańsk, which will enable interested entities to access liquefied natural gas supplies directly at sea. In this case, the investor is the state-owned company Gaz-System. This important step is intended to help European countries move away from importing natural gas from Russia.