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Poland signs contract for new submarine rescue ship

By Neil Dee |

Artist's impression of the Polish Navy's future first submarine rescue ship in the Ratownik programme. (PGZ Stocznia Wojenna)

Poland's Armaments Agency has signed a contract with Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa: PGZ) and its subsidiary companies PGZ Stocznia Wojenna (PGZ Naval Shipyard) and Ośrodek Badawczo – Rozwojowy Centrum Techniki Morskiej (Research and Development Centre of the Marine Technology Centre) for a new submarine rescue ship for the Polish Navy. The acquisition programme for the ship is referred to as Ratownik (Rescuer).

The contract for the new ship was signed at the Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia on 27 December 2024. The contract is expected to run from 2025 to 2029 and is valued at over PLN1 billion (USD241.5 million). Ratownik is intended to replace the navy's two ageing Piast (Project 570M)-class salvage ships. Steel-cutting is planned for December 2025, with keel-laying expected in February 2026, and launch to follow in 2027. The ship is expected to be delivered by 2029. Ratownik was initially ordered from a consortium led by PGZ in December 2017; however, the contract was halted in April 2020. Negotiations had resumed by 2022, with the result being the current contract signed in December.

The new ship is based on the MMC887R design by MMC Ship Design & Marine Consulting. Ratownik is planned to feature a displacement of about 6,500 tonnes, length of 96 m, beam of 19 m, range of 6,000 n mile, maximum speed of 16 kt, and crew of 100, plus an additional nine specialists.

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