The Gdańsk Shipyard (Polish: Stocznia Gdańska, formerly Lenin Shipyard) is a large Polish shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk, northern Poland. The yard gained international fame when Polish trade union Solidarity (Solidarność) was founded there in September 1980. It is situated on the western side of Martwa Wisła and on Ostrów Island.
Gdańsk Shipyard was founded in 1946 as a state-owned company, on sites of the former German shipyards, Schichau-Werft and Danziger Werft, both considerably damaged in the Second World War. On 1 July 1952 a state-owned enterprise called Baza Remontowa-Ostrow was established on Ostrów Island. The name changed to Gdańska Stocznia Remontowa later in the year. During the time of the People’s Republic of Poland, the complex was known as the Gdańsk Shipyard and Vladimir Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk (1967–89).
In 1980, Gdańsk was the arena for events that marked the beginning of organized resistance to Communist dictatorship in eastern Europe. A strike by 17,000 ship builders saw Solidarity (Solidarność), led by shipyard electrician Lech Wałęsa, recognised as the first non-Communist trade union in the then Soviet Bloc. The move was one of the first successful steps in a campaign of civil resistance that contributed to the eventual collapse of Communism across eastern Europe.
Through the 1980s, Northern Shipyard continued to produce super-trawlers, super-seiners, hydrographic units and troop landing craft for the Soviet Union – the last four were delivered in 1991. Contracts signed with the Communist-era Polish Navy were delivered in the early 1990s. Difficulties on the world market forced radical changes and the yard began to specialize in cargo containers, mainly for Germany and Nigeria.
Over 60 years, Stocznia Gdańsk has delivered more than 1000 seagoing ships to owners all over the world. In recent years, the top deliveries have been container ships, reefers, bulk carriers and passenger ro-ro ferries. Most ships are designed in their own design office. Design and construction of ships has remained the main activity of the yard. Work for the offshore industry began in the 21st century.
Gdańsk shipyards have fallen on hard times. Once a place of work for over 20,000 people, the Gdańsk shipyards employ 2,200 workers today. The European Union has backed a restructuring plan for the shipyard.
About 77 companies operate on the grounds of the shipyards, including GSG Towers, which builds steel towers for wind turbines.
The shipyard’s Gate Number Two, for decades the focus of strikes and celebrations, has become a pilgrimage destination.
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