Capt. Zbigniew Sulatycki is the patron of the "School of Captains" in Iława | Gdańsk University of Technology

The training center for captains and pilots of ships, located on Lake Silm in Kamionka near Iława, is among only three such institutions in Europe and five in the world. Here, captains from all over the world learn to guide their ships through locks, canals and enter ports. In recognition of many years of work for the development of the Polish maritime industry and the facility itself, it will now be named after Capt. Zbigniew Sulatycki, Master Mariner.

The ceremony of unveiling the plaque with the patron's name was held on Monday, 19 September. Among the guests of the event were: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Minister Marek Gróbarczyk, Pomeranian Voivode Dariusz Drelich, Warmian-Masurian Voivode Artur Chojecki and Mayor of Iława Dawid Kopaczewski.

Gdańsk University of Technology was represented by prof. Krzysztof Wilde, rector of Gdańsk Tech, and Marek Dzida, professor at Gdańsk Tech, who conducted the ceremony. It was also attended by the rectors of other universities related to the maritime industry - prof. Capt. Adam Weintrit (Gdynia Maritime University), prof. PM, Capt. Wojciech Ślączka (Maritime University of Technology in Szczecin), rear admiral prof. Tomasz Szubrycht (Naval Academy in Gdynia) and prof. PK Danuta Zawadzka (Koszalin University of Technology).

"It's a great experience for me"

The guests were greeted by Marek Dzida, professor at Gdańsk Tech, chairman of the Council of the Foundation for Safety of Shipping and Environmental Protection in Iława and Jacek Nowicki, director of the board of the Foundation, which on behalf of the founders - Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdynia Maritime University and the City of Iława - runs and manages the "School of Captains".

– Today's ceremony is a great experience for me - told the assembled Capt. Zbigniew Sulatycki. – I spent a lot of time in this center and I remember learning here as a great school of life. The award that has been granted to me is particularly important to me. – added the new patron of the center.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, emphasized the role of educating future generations of captains and pilots of ships.

– Building competences and skills of human resources in the maritime industry is as important as infrastructure investments. It is a matter of extreme significance, and Capt. Zbigniew Sulatycki has been one of the fathers and guardians of supporting the maritime economy for a long time. It is thanks to people like the captain that it is possible to build the strength and competitiveness of our economy.

– The center which we are visiting today belongs to only a few of this type around the world - emphasized prof. Krzysztof Wilde, rector of Gdańsk Tech. - This means that the trainings that future captains of the largest naval units undergo here are elite and actively support the development of the maritime economy. In turn, Capt. Zbigniew Sulatycki has great merits in this field, hence I believe that the center could not have had a better patron – he added.

About the patron of the center

Capt. Zbigniew Sulatycki was born on 23 August, 1933 in Skarżysko Kamienna. He graduated from the Technical School of Electrical Engineering in Wrocław and the Technical School of Operation of Shipping and Ports in Szczecin. He studied at the State Maritime School in Szczecin (from which he was relegated in 1953 for concealing the fact that his father was an officer in the Polish Army before the war). Finally, he obtained the Master Mariner’s diploma in 1973 at the Maritime University in Gdynia.

He worked, among others in Polish Ocean Lines, the Maritime Office in Gdynia, the Harbor Master's Office, but also as a ship captain, maritime pilot, expert at the Polish Chamber of Foreign Trade in Gdynia. In 1990, he became the chairman of the team of advisers to the minister of transport and maritime economy, and then undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Economy. He has co-created many reports on the state of the Gdańsk Bay's environment, fisheries and the shipbuilding industry.

From 1980 he has been a member of Solidarity and the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia. In 1995, he founded the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski Polish Maritime and Economic Association and cooperates with many Polonia institutions in the world, since 2016 he has been chairing the Sea Convention. He has also an Honorary doctorate of the Gdynia Maritime University. Capt. Sulatycki was also honored, among others, by The Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the medal "For Merit to Culture Gloria Artis".

"School of Captains"

The Research and Development Center for Ship Maneuvering, run by the Shipping Safety Foundation from Iława, is popularly called the "School of Captains". It was established in 1980 and its founders were: Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdynia Maritime Academy (now: Gdynia Maritime University) and the city of Iława. It is managed by the Foundation for Shipping Safety and Environmental Protection with seat in Iława.

The " School of Captains" is a unique, one of the five such facilities in the world. The others are located in France, the USA, England and Australia. On Lake Silm, selected harbors, canals, rivers and other places burdensome for maneuvering have been recreated in a 1:24 scale. The trainings, of course, are not carried out on huge tankers measuring several hundred meters - there are ships that are almost perfect copies of the already existing ones, but of much smaller sizes (in a scale of 1:16 or 1:24). However, the proportions concerning weight and dimensions as well as engine power have been preserved.

So far, several thousand people from around 50 countries have attended the trainings there.