Our geopolitical imagination, which until recently was stretched along the East-West axis, has now gained a new dimension – the North. This new perception is becoming the impetus for economic as well as demographic changes that are taking place along the Polish coast.
The city of Gdańsk, one of the largest port cities in Europe, reached the height of its power at the turn of the 17th century. During this period, it held the prestigious status of a royal city, enjoying extensive autonomy and maintaining its own naval fleet. In return for loyalty and financial support, the Polish kings granted the city numerous privileges. Thanks to its location on the Baltic Sea and at the mouth of the Vistula river, Gdańsk controlled the trade in grain, timber and salt. It was the main port of export for the First Polish Republic. Gdańsk was also famous for its multiculturalism and religious tolerance. It was inhabited by different ethnic and religious groups who lived in the city, side by side. These included Poles, Germans, Dutch, Scots, Jews and Kashubians.
The period of the city’s prosperity was ended by the wars and crises that happened in the second half of the 17th century. They included the Swedish Deluge as well as conflicts with Prussia and Russia, which all led to the decline of Gdańsk's position. However, the proud motto of the city’s 17th-century merchants, which in Latin reads Nec temere, nec timide, and which in English means “neither cowardly, nor timidly,” is still printed on the city’s coats of arms, reminding us of the greatness of this Baltic port.
A new dimension
In 2025, General Rajmund Andrzejczak, the former Chief of the General Staff of the Polish army, while analysing Poland’s national security strategy, noted that today its principle of operation is to be found at the Baltic Sea, with Gdańsk, Gdynia, Szczecin and Świnoujście as key points. This approach is naturally the result of the full-scale war that Russia has been carrying out against Ukraine since 2022. Of course, a great amount of damage has been caused by this war on land, with subsequent military activities appearing in the Black Sea. The great diplomatic efforts made to allow for the transport of grain show that when it comes to moving goods, nothing can replace sea routes.
This perspective allows us to better see the importance of such port regions like Gdańsk–Gdynia and Szczecin–Świnoujście. That is why the plans for a container terminal on Wolin Island and the expansion of the port in Ustka are now considered necessary.
In the energy sector, northern Poland also offers unique opportunities. The natural gas terminals in Gdańsk and Świnoujście, as well as the Baltic Pipe that delivers natural gas from Norway, are already recognized as being of great strategic importance not only for Poland but also for the entire region, especially Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
The region is growing in importance also internationally. The accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO has turned the Baltic Sea into a so-called “NATO lake”. There has also been an increased assertiveness from Norway and the Baltic states towards Russia, coinciding with a leadership crisis in the West and growing ambivalence among Visegrad partners – particularly Slovakia and Hungary – towards Moscow. All this explains why the Baltic Sea states have become the key partners in Polish security. As a result, our geopolitical imagination, which until recently was stretched along the East-West axis, has now gained a new dimension – the North. This new perception is becoming the impetus for economic as well as demographic changes that are taking place along the Polish coast. We can compare them to the earlier mentioned golden period in the history of Gdańsk.
Investments
A state-of-the-art installation terminal for the offshore wind industry is currently under construction in Gdańsk. Offshore wind energy refers to the generation of electricity using wind turbines located at sea. The development of the Baltica 2 wind farm, situated off the coast near the port of Ustka, will thus mark a significant step forward for green energy in Poland. It is estimated that 107 wind turbines will be installed by 2027. They will be located over 20 kilometres offshore, thus out of sight from the coastline. This project will create new jobs and foster a network of cooperating companies. Once completed, the wind farm will supply electricity to approximately 2.5 million households.
Another important investment is the construction of a floating storage regasification unit terminal, or FSRU, which will be located in the southern part of Gdańsk Bay. This is in the immediate vicinity of the Baltic Hub container terminal and the waterway leading to the port of Gdańsk, at a distance of approximately three kilometres from the shore. The FSRU will be moored permanently to the quay. This is a vessel adapted for the in-process storage of LNG gas collected from methane carrier ships, all with the aim of changing the state of aggregation from liquid to gas. In this form, the gas will be transmitted, via an offshore pipeline, to the national transmission network.
The construction of the jetty in the Gulf of Gdańsk is expected to begin with dredging works, which are scheduled for the second half of 2025. The FSRU terminal is scheduled to be operational by the first quarter of 2028. This is a strategic investment as it ensures security and diversification of supply. The new gas terminal under construction will make it possible to cover almost one-third of Poland's total gas consumption.
The next investment in northern Poland is the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant – Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, or PEJ. The nuclear power plant is planned to be built with the use of Westinghouse AP1000 technology at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Pomerania. The engineering development agreement signed in April sets the framework for cooperation over the next few months between PEJ and the contractor consortium. The signing of the so-called “bridge agreement” opens up the next stage of cooperation, which will allow for the design and subsequent construction of this key facility for energy security to begin. According to PEJ, this is a milestone for the project and, according to the current schedule, the pouring of the so-called first nuclear concrete for the reactor is expected to take place in 2028. The start of the commercial operations of the first unit is planned for 2036.
Container “throughput” at Polish ports is steadily increasing. This dynamic growth, along with rising competition, requires port managers to adopt long-term strategic planning and investment approaches. In response to the geopolitical and energy challenges facing Central and Eastern Europe, ambitious port infrastructure development plans are being pursued. As critical nodes in the logistics and energy networks, and as gateways to international trade and industrial hubs, seaports are thus now taking on an increasingly vital role. They are evolving from mere transit points for goods into strategic partners in strengthening Europe’s economic and military resilience.
Vulnerabilities
At the same time, vulnerability around these areas is increasing. In the current security situation, seaports may become a target for destabilizing activities in the region. This makes it all the more important to discuss their security, modernization and future. This of course also applies to the port of Gdańsk, which is the most important Polish port. It is also the main container hub for the Baltic Sea, serving the largest container ships in the world. In 2024, the port of Gdańsk handled more than 3,500 ships and more than 77 million tonnes of cargo. It is also the only port on the Baltic Sea to regularly serve container ships from the Far East.
The growing demand for handling strategic cargo, ranging from containers and liquid fuels to offshore wind farm components, has been driving the need for continued infrastructure investment. This includes the expansion of key projects such as Naftoport, a company specializing in the “transhipment” of oil and petroleum products, both onshore and offshore. The planned expansion involves the construction of a new liquid fuel transhipment facility, along with all essential supporting infrastructure.
Today, investment in maritime infrastructure is not just an element of transport policy, but the foundation of the raw material, energy and economic security of Poland and the region. Structural investments planned many years in advance are a response to current market needs. Above all, however, they respond to changing global conditions and the growing importance of the Baltic Sea as the key trade and energy route for this part of Europe.
Ports such as the one in Gdańsk play a crucial role in ensuring military, food, economic and energy security. In this way, they meet the European Union's objectives for security and sustainable development. Baltic ports are not only a cargo transit point, but an element of the European Union's frontier infrastructure, directly supporting its resilience to the challenges of competitiveness.
In terms of economic and energy security, the Baltic ports allow for the diversification of raw material imports – such as gas, oil and alternative fuels. Gdańsk is also preparing for the implementation of an onshore power system. This technology will allow ships to connect to the onshore electricity grid while at berth in the port, so that they can use energy from land instead of running their own polluting auxiliary engines. The city also hopes to develop low-carbon bunkering infrastructure. This will help with essential parts of the energy transition, such as the provision of fuel used to power the ship's engines and on-board machinery.
Security
Infrastructure security in the Baltic is overseen by the navy. In January 2025, NATO launched an operation codenamed “Baltic Sentry”. Announced at the Baltic Sea Summit in Helsinki, it is a joint initiative to intensify operations and the presence of allied vessels in the Baltic Sea.
The Polish navy has also been conducting an operation codenamed “Zatoka” (Bay) for the last two years. As part of it, Poland conducts continuous monitoring of its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, putting particular emphasis on the protection of underwater critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The aim of the operation is to counter potential sabotage incidents and detect suspicious activities in key areas where marine infrastructure is concentrated. It is a response to the growing threat of provocations occurring in maritime waters. The impetus for its launch was, among other things, the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Polish vessels monitor the situation in the Baltic Sea, focusing primarily on facilities, such as gas pipelines, undersea telecommunications and power cables, as well as drilling platforms, oil and gas terminals.
Over the past three years, Russia has been sailing on the Baltic Sea a number of unregistered vessels, known as the “shadow fleet”. The purpose of using these vessels is to hide the illegal nature of the oil transports that Russia undertakes, thereby evading western sanctions. However, their presence on the Baltic Sea has been linked to a number of sabotage incidents and hybrid operations.
For example, in October 2023, when the Baltic connector gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland and the Baltika power cable were damaged, “shadow fleet” vessels were present near the site. In November 2024, two submarine data cables between Germany and Finland and between the Swedish island of Gotland and Lithuania, were damaged. It is suspected that one of the bulk carriers in the vicinity at the time, working with Russia, may have been involved in these incidents. In December 2024, a cable connecting Finland to Estonia was damaged. The trail leads to one of the tankers belonging to the shadow fleet, which deliberately dragged its anchor along the seabed so as to cause the failure. The ship's crew was detained by the Finnish authorities on suspicion of an act of sabotage.
In May 2025 there was another dangerous incident in the Baltic. This time it happened near the Polish coast. A tanker listed on the shadow fleet list was performing worrying manoeuvres, not in Polish territorial waters but over power cables. The infrastructure was not damaged, but a Polish navy hydrographic ship was dispatched to the site to check whether any explosives had been planted in the area. An Interpol investigation that followed this incident revealed that a shadow fleet was being used to smuggle weapons into Africa. Specifically, the old ships supplied illegal weapons and military equipment to Marshal Khalifa Haftar's forces in Libya and supported military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
In response, the European Union has approved the 17th package of sanctions against Russia. They are also targeted at nearly 200 vessels from the shadow fleet. These sanctions are designed to limit Russia's ability to circumvent international restrictions and counter threats to European energy security.
Today Gdańsk is again a maritime gateway and an important hub in global logistics. Thanks to the investments that have been made and its convenient location, it is regarded as an important player in the region. Its port, which is also a large employer in Poland, is of great significance not only to Poland but also the whole region. It is one of the largest and fastest growing ports in this part of the continent, one that also stimulates economic development in northern Poland.
The views and opinions in this text do not necessarily reflect those of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.