Faculty of Navigation of the Maritime University in Gdynia

Since the opening of the Maritime School in Tczew in 1920, it had two main departments: Navigation and Engineering. The school was officially inaugurated on December 8, 1920, and at that time, 49 students were enrolled in the Navigation Department. The first graduates completed their studies in 1923, but it wasn't until three years later that they found employment on Polish ships, thanks to the establishment of the state-owned enterprise Żegluga Polska. In 1929, for the first time, graduates of the Navigation Department became ship captains – Leon Rusiecki took command of SS Wilno, and Zbigniew Deyczakowski became captain of SS Robur I. A year later, in 1930, the entire school was relocated to a modern, specially constructed facility in Gdynia. During World War II, the school operated in exile, first in Southampton and later in London, under the name State Maritime School in Gdynia, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Polish government-in-exile. After the war, in 1947, the Navigation Department was transferred to the newly established State Maritime School in Szczecin. In 1953, the department was reinstated in Gdynia. In 1969, the State Maritime School transformed into the Maritime University, and its graduates began earning the title of maritime navigation engineer. This marked a new chapter in the history of this distinguished institution, which has been preparing crews for Polish maritime shipping. The history of the Maritime School is a story of the development of the Polish merchant navy, the building of a competent crew, and their contribution to the growth of the maritime economy.