On the 8th of July, 2021, a Letter of Intent was signed at the Ministry of Climate and Environment establishing the principles for the implementation of joint activities enabling the purchase and maintenance and sharing of a seagoing scientific research vessel. 

Thanks to this initiative, universities and scientific research institutes of the ministries: Climate and Environment, Infrastructure and Science will have the opportunity to conduct oceanic, environmental, geological and geophysical research.

The signatories of the letter, apart from the Director of the Polish Geological Institute - NRI Mateusz Damrat, Dr. Eng., were: Wojciech Ślączka, MSc, Ph.D. - Rector of the Maritime Academy in Szczecin, Agnieszka Kruszewska - Deputy Director at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Krzysztof Otto - Director for Technical Affairs at the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Sławomir Sagan, Ph.D. - Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs at the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The moment of signing the letter of intent establishing the rules for the implementation of joint actions enabling the purchase, maintenance and co-usage of the maritime scientific research vessel. Second from left - director of the Polish Geological Institute - NRI Mateusz Damrat, Dr. Eng.

The Letter of Intent was signed at the headquarters of the Ministry of Climate and Environment (MoE) in the presence of Dr. Piotr Dziadzio, the Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, Poland’s Chief Geologist, and Government Plenipotentiary for the State Raw Materials Policy. Marek Gróbarczyk - Secretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Government Plenipotentiary for Water Management and Investments in the Maritime and Water Economy, and Włodzimierz Bernacki - Secretary of State in the Ministry of Education and Science, Government Plenipotentiary for Monitoring the Implementation of the Reform of Higher Education and Science.

Deputy Minister Piotr Dziadzio emphasized that the actions taken to purchase the research vessel require a lot of work related to conducting multidirectional consultations on the needs of its use and equipping it with onboard, research and laboratory equipment. It will also be important to establish a timetable for the use of the vessel between interested entities. "I am glad that this Letter of Intent has been signed, as cooperation between institutes is a guarantee of rational spending of public funds and ensuring certainty of performing the tasks entrusted to the maritime scientific and research vessel," Poland’s Chief Geologist added.

The maritime scientific and research vessel will be used for research, training and logistical work, including the operation of polar stations located at both poles and, among other things, for the implementation of international commitments, including a contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for the exploration of polymetallic massive sulfides within the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, part of whose tasks, according to the mandate of the Minister of Climate and Environment, are carried out by the Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute.

The signatories of the Letter of Intent. In the first row, second from the left - Director of the Polish Geological Institute - PIB Mateusz Damrat, Ph.

Text: Agata Kozlowska-Roman, Michal Tomczak
Photos: Ministry of Climate and Environment
Source: Ministry of Climate and Environment

Translated by Tomasz Trzpil (PGI-NRI)