Polsteam
Encyclopedia
Polsteam, formerly known as the Polish Steamship Company (in Polish
: Polska Żegluga Morska, PŻM), is a cargo ship
operator based in Szczecin
, Poland
. Polsteam is state-owned with around 3,000 employees.
marine freight companies (Gdynia-Ameryka Linie Żeglugowe SA and Żegluga Polska), making it the oldest Polish cargo ship operator in existence.
Initially Polstem's fleet comprised 11 ships of joint carrying capacity of approx 27,000 DWT. Among those ships there were: four of the so-called. French ship's, which were steamer
's built in 1926 in French
shipyard of Chantiers Navals Francais in Blainville
: SS Wieluń, SS Kraków, SS Toruń, SS Poznań, the oldest of the acquired ships was SS Narocz (2,520 DWT) built in 1915 in Great Britain
, SS Narew (310 DWT) a small coaster
built in 1944 in Germany
and SS Elbląg (1,699 DWT) built in 1944. Four ships of B-30 series, constructed in 1949 in Gdańsk Shipyard
: SS Sołdek (first ship in the post-WWII
history of the Polish shipbuilding industry), SS Jedność Robotnicza, SS Pstrowski and SS Brygada Makowskiego (built in 1950).
In the first years of Polstem's existence the ship owner's vessels navigated on short and midrange sea rutes (ie the Baltic Sea
, North Sea
and Mediterranean Sea
). In the course of the first five years coal
, wood
, iron ore. 80-90 % per that shipping involved traping services and although the ship operator had three lines since 1951 namely: Szczecin
- Stockholm
, Szczecin - London
- Rouen
and Szczecin - Hamburg
- Rotterdam
- Antwerp.
. Polsteam's particular specialty is the transportation of liquid sulfur
.
Polsteam also operates a passenger ferry
service between Świnoujście
and the Swedish
ports of Ystad
and Trelleborg
via its subsidiary
Unity Line
.
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Polska Żegluga Morska, PŻM), is a cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
operator based in Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Polsteam is state-owned with around 3,000 employees.
Company history
Polsteam was founded in 1951, nationalizing the assets of two Polish pre-WWIIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
marine freight companies (Gdynia-Ameryka Linie Żeglugowe SA and Żegluga Polska), making it the oldest Polish cargo ship operator in existence.
Initially Polstem's fleet comprised 11 ships of joint carrying capacity of approx 27,000 DWT. Among those ships there were: four of the so-called. French ship's, which were steamer
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
's built in 1926 in French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
shipyard of Chantiers Navals Francais in Blainville
Blainville-sur-Orne
Blainville-sur-Orne is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Blainville-sur-Orne is on the west side of the Canal de Caen à la Mer, just south of Bénouville and the famous Pegasus Bridge of D-Day fame. The town is also home to a Renault Trucks ...
: SS Wieluń, SS Kraków, SS Toruń, SS Poznań, the oldest of the acquired ships was SS Narocz (2,520 DWT) built in 1915 in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, SS Narew (310 DWT) a small coaster
Coastal trading vessel
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where deeper-hulled sea-going ships usually cannot....
built in 1944 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and SS Elbląg (1,699 DWT) built in 1944. Four ships of B-30 series, constructed in 1949 in Gdańsk Shipyard
Gdansk Shipyard
Gdańsk Shipyard is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk. The yard gained international fame when Solidarity was founded there in September 1980...
: SS Sołdek (first ship in the post-WWII
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
history of the Polish shipbuilding industry), SS Jedność Robotnicza, SS Pstrowski and SS Brygada Makowskiego (built in 1950).
In the first years of Polstem's existence the ship owner's vessels navigated on short and midrange sea rutes (ie the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
). In the course of the first five years coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, iron ore. 80-90 % per that shipping involved traping services and although the ship operator had three lines since 1951 namely: Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
- Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Szczecin - London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
and Szczecin - Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
- Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
- Antwerp.
Fleet
It operates a fleet of 75 vessels (total: 2,500,000 DWT), mostly dry bulk carriersBulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
. Polsteam's particular specialty is the transportation of liquid sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
.
Polsteam also operates a passenger ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service between Świnoujście
Swinoujscie
Świnoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
and the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
ports of Ystad
Ystad
Ystad is a "locality", or town, and the seat of Ystad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 17,286 inhabitants .Settlement dates back to the 11th century and the town has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre and tourist attraction...
and Trelleborg
Trelleborg
Trelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...
via its subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
Unity Line
Unity Line
Unity Line is a Polish company that operates RoRo and train ferry services between Świnoujście in Poland and the Swedish ports of Ystad and Trelleborg.-Routes:Unity Line operates two routes across the Baltic Sea.*Świnoujście - Ystad...
.