Interview : Marek Grzybowski (3) questions for Ireneusz Ćwirko, President of the Management Board, CRIST

Offshore Vessels, Hybrid Ships, and Maritime Constructions. Made in Gdynia

Marek Grzybowski: An exclusive interview for eBlue Economy

CRIST is a leading shipyard on the European market in the offshore sector, hybrid ships, and maritime constructions. They have delivered such vessels as the Heavy Maintenance Vessel “VIDAR”, the Heavy Lift Jack-Up Vessel “INNOVATION” and the Jack-up Barge “THOR”. Crist has built the hybrid electric ferry ‘Electra’ for a Finnish shipowner, that was awarded the international ‘Ship of the year’ title in 2018. Two similar hybrid-electric ferries for the same Finnish shipowner are currently under construction

Marek Grzybowski: CRIST is an active shipyard in the field of shipbuilding, steel constructions, and ship repairs. What production dominates in 2021?

Ireneusz Ćwirko: This year our order book includes the construction of the next two turnkey hybrid-electric ferries for Finferries, we are continuing the construction of fully outfitted floating blocks for the world’s largest passenger cruise ships for Chantiers de l’Atlantique from France.

We also concluded a shipbuilding contract for the construction of a semi submergible pontoon of dimensions: 270 meters by 69 meters and weight: 53,000 tons, for the transport of drilling platforms that ended work on the offshore oil deposits. Unfortunately, the contract had not come into force due to the tremendous growth in steel prices: from 550 EUR / tonne in December 2020 up to 1.200 EUR / tonne from March 1^st, 2021. Obviously, we continue our cooperation with Meyer Werft in Papenburg, for which we build partly outfitted block structures

Marek Grzybowski: The offshore wind farms market is growing dynamically. The shipyard’s portfolio includes the successful construction of installation vessels for offshore wind farms. What is the shipyard’s offer for this market?

Ireneusz Ćwirko: We are currently focusing on two vessels for the installation of wind towers. The first project – in the most advanced stage of discussion – is intended for the United States market, and we believe that the turnkey shipbuilding contract will be successfully signed in the Q4 of this year. The second project is for the Scandinavian market. However, we are most interested in our Polish project, related to the construction of wind farms in the Baltic Sea

Marek Grzybowski: Demand for zero-emission ships is growing. What is the shipyard’s experience in building hybrid ships?

Ireneusz Ćwirko: As far as our experience is concerned, we have built the hybrid electric ferry ‘Electra’ for a Finnish shipowner, that was awarded the international ‘Ship of the year’ title in 2018, and currently we have under construction ­– for the same Finnish shipowner – two other hybrid-electric ferries.

In 2019, we also built a ro-pax ferry for a shipowner from Iceland, where electric batteries were installed, and the ferry may operate on this hybrid system provided that a land-based charging station is prepared.

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