Katarzyna Skrzeszewska

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006) was designed to harmonise minimum standards of working and living conditions at sea across jurisdictions. Despite its near-universal ratification, significant disparities in labour conditions persist, indicating limited effectiveness in the implementation of the regulatory framework. This article aims to explain this paradox by analysing the MLC through the lens of institutional economics and multi-level governance. In particular, the study examines how the institutional structure of the system—encompassing both public and private actors—affects the effectiveness of enforcement. It advances the argument that the limitations of the MLC do not stem from insufficient regulatory harmonisation, but rather from the system’s limited capacity to generate sufficiently high and consistent costs of non-compliance. The analysis demonstrates that the hybrid and multi-level governance structure gives rise to three types of institutional gaps: vertical, horizontal, and perceptual. Drawing on data from Port State Control (PSC) regimes, the study shows that deficiencies related to working conditions are relatively frequently identified, whereas detentions—representing the primary enforcement mechanism associated with significant economic costs—remain relatively limited and uneven across regions. The findings reveal a systematic asymmetry between the detection of violations and their sanctioning. This asymmetry lowers the expected cost of non-compliance, weakens the deterrent function of regulation, and creates conditions conducive to regulatory arbitrage. At the same time, the analysis suggests that, in certain contexts, market-based mechanisms may generate stronger incentives for compliance than fragmented public enforcement systems. The contribution of this article is threefold: (1) it develops a conceptual framework of three types of institutional gaps, (2) it links these gaps to regulatory arbitrage from a transaction cost perspective, and (3) it provides empirical evidence of enforcement asymmetry based on PSC data. The findings suggest that improving the effectiveness of the MLC requires strengthening enforcement mechanisms and increasing the credibility and consistency of sanctions, rather than further expanding regulatory standards alone. The aim of this study is to identify and classify the key gaps in the implementation of the MLC and to explain how the configuration of these gaps enables institutional arbitration. The identified configuration of vertical, horizontal, and perceptual gaps, reinforced by variation in enforcement capacities, explains why the MLC, despite widespread ratification, fails. Sustainable improvement requires the simultaneous closure of legal and practical gaps, as well as the limitation of institutional arbitration throughout the entire employment chain.

Cel. W raporcie The future of European competitiveness Mario Draghi podkreślił kluczową, dla rozwoju gospodarczego i zapewniania bezpieczeństwa Unii Europejskiej, rolę transportu morskiego. Tymczasem flota pod unijnymi banderami, w tym polską, systematycznie się zmniejsza. Celem badań, których wyniki przedstawiono w artykule, była ocena świadomości społeczeństwa na temat znaczenia floty pod narodową banderą oraz stopnia akceptacji potencjalnej pomocy publicznej dla przedsiębiorstw żeglugowych. Metoda. Badania przeprowadzono na ogólnopolskiej, reprezentatywnej próbie 1001 respondentów metodą ankietową (CAWI). Ze względu na brak obecności tematyki floty morskiej w mediach, ankietę poprzedzono wprowadzeniem informacyjnym o stanie polskiej floty, skutkach jej braku oraz potencjalnych działaniach wspierających powrót statków pod polską banderę. Do prezentacji, analizy i interpretacji uzyskanych wyników wykorzystano deferencjał semantyczny. Wyniki. Respondenci deklarujący specjalistyczną wiedzę częściej podkreślali prestiż jaki wiąże się z posiadaniem floty narodowej i byli bardziej skłonni akceptować pomoc państwa wspierającą sektor żeglugi morskiej. Konieczność pomocy państwa dla żeglugi morskiej zauważyło starsze pokolenie respondentów oraz osoby lepiej wykształcone, bardziej świadome, prawdopodobnie, globalnych współzależności gospodarczych. Wyniki wskazują na potrzebę edukacji społeczeństwa i aktywniejszą politykę państwa sprzyjającą rozwojowi floty pod polską banderą.

Research background and purpose: Maintaining a national fleet under a country's flag is increasingly difficult in globalised maritime transport. Still, many countries support their merchant fleets for strategic, economic or symbolic reasons. Poland’s merchant fleet, once among the world's top 20 in the 1980s, now consists of only 14 small, ageing vessels. The article identifies causes of this decline and explores public attitudes toward the importance of a national fleet and willingness to support measures to reduce the cost of maintaining ships under the Polish flag. Design/methodology/approach: Two research methods were applied: historical and institutional analysis, and a representative survey (n=1001). The first established the context for investigating public opinion on whether Poland should maintain a national fleet and adopt supportive policy. Findings: Findings show that while the public values a national merchant fleet, it is less inclined to support economic incentives or regulatory changes to sustain it. High employment costs, especially those from Poland's social security system, are the main barrier to competitiveness. In a global context of officer shortages and wage pressure, rebuilding the fleet is desirable but economically challenging. Public support exists, but successful maritime policy requires not only systemic reforms but also better communication with society. Value added and limitations: The article demonstrates that shipping is important not only from a business perspective, but also from the perspective of the public interest. There is identified a "bottleneck" (indirect labor costs) as the decisive factor in rejecting the Polish registry – the desire for a cost advantage over competitors necessitates the use of an appropriate registry selection strategy. The article portrays shipping as a key element of the supply chain to Europe. The issue of managing human capital with appropriate qualifications is addressed – the shortage of officers and the reasons for their withdrawal from the profession are raised. Also, the article touches on issues related to change management. A limitation of article was the public opinion data are cross-sectional, capturing attitudes at a single point in time. Although the sample was demographically representative, it did not specifically capture the views of key stakeholder groups, such as shipowners, trade unions, maritime professionals, or policymakers.

Project management is sufficiently described in the source literature. However, numerous published scientific works refer mainly to examples of good practice in project management in business entities, and unfortunately higher education establishments (HEE) are marginally analysed. Therefore, the analyses defined in study aim to evaluate the performance indicators of project management in universities, on the example of Gdynia Maritime University. In the studies the research in action method was applied as well as the technique of direct interview with project or department managers involved in the project implementation. The analyses covered selected projects that were implemented at the University between 2017 and 2021. Moreover, research questions were formulated, i.e., 1) Which indicators are used to assess the efficiency of project management at HEE?, 2) Does the surveyed HEE analyse the project management efficiency assessment? In order to conduct the study, the Author’s indicators were proposed to assess the efficiency of process management during the implementation of projects in HEE and these were applied in the analysis presented in this article. It was found that the surveyed university does not apply indicators to assess the efficiency of project management. Whereas the usefulness of indicators proposed by the Authors to study the efficiency of project management was confirmed by calculations performed. On these grounds, the Authors recommend the University authorities should consider implementing these indicators.

Cruise ships are unfortunately at the infamous forefront of the means of maritime transport emitting the largest amounts of harmful substances into the atmosphere and aquatic environment. At the initiative of IMO and the European Union, formal restrictions were introduced regarding the level of harmful emissions on the high seas and in ports generated by seagoing vessels. To meet these challenges, shipowners have invested in various technological solutions on their ships to reduce the number of harmful emissions, and by ordering new vessels; they promote the use of pro-ecological solutions related to energy saving and eliminate environmental harm. However, despite the actions taken by shipowners, seaports unfortunately lag behind the challenges and expectations of the market and are still not prepared, for example, to power the ships moored in ports with shore-side energy to reduce the environmental pollution when the ships are at berth. The aim of this paper is to identify actions taken by seaport authorities to prepare electricity infrastructure in seaports to power vessels with energy from the land. Key legal restrictions concerning reduction in pollutions emitted from ships in the ports are also described and analyzed. The results of the study also show the approach of seaports to the issue of Onshore Energy Supply for cruise ships. The research was conducted among the selected ports in the Baltic Sea Region where cruise ships are accepted. The following research questions were formulated: (1) What legal regulations oblige seaports and shipowners to reduce the level of pollutions emitted into the environment? (2) Do the ports use a benchmark to assess the level of harmful emissions when defining the amount of port fees for cruise shipowners? (3) How are cruise ships powered in the port? (4) What investments are planned in the port regarding the infrastructure related to the diversification of shore-side electricity for the ships? The studies were conducted by using a few research methods, i.e., the desk research method, the exploration method, and the CAWI Computer Assisted Web Interview. The results of this research can provide an interesting source of information both for cruise ship owners and cruise seaport authorities, but also potentially for shipyards where new vessels are constructed.

Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation

Purpose – In the Baltic Sea basin a particularly serious barrier to the development of coastal tourism is its seasonality. Its consequence is a lack of opportunities for sustainable development, which leads to imbalance in terms of local economy, the environment and social inequalities and tensions. The objective of this paper is to present the possible methods of overcoming negative effects of seasonality in the Polish coastal regions, especially in the Pomorskie Voivodship. Methodology – The study used a number of analytical methods based on sources obtained through desk research: the critical analysis of materials from the subject’s literature, statistical reports and an analysis of official documents, normative acts and regional strategies. The empirical part, presented in the form of a case study, was developed on the basis of results of expert interviews, including IDI representative of the regional tourist organization. Findings – Infrastructure used by the coastal tourism sector and the previous offer and practice of coastal tourism on the Polish coast have created mass tourism with neutral price elasticity of demand. Such a character of demand eliminates the effectiveness of some marketing tools. Contribution – Critical analysis of documents from the EU to the local levels of governance of coastal tourism has shown that there is a gap in this linkage of documents. There are not any strategies or plans at the national level dedicated to coastal tourism. This means that the framework of activity set at the supranational level is not effectively used by Poland. Local solutions without national government support may not generate the expected results.