The scientific community strongly criticized Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government plan to finance two vessels for maritime universities in Poland. “Instead of a truly necessary and well-justified research vessel, the government funds a surprise in the form of declarations completely inconsistent with the principle of saving every penny to strengthen defense. This looks like unabashed political lobbying, disregarding the country’s real needs,” said Prof. Jan Marcin Węsławski, director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). Scientists are also highly critical of cuts in science funding this year and the next, demanding a revision of the state budget.
On Tuesday, the government decided to finance the construction of two new vessels – a sailing ship for the Maritime University in Gdynia and a training-research unit for the Maritime University of Technology in Szczecin. Government spokesperson Adam Szłapka announced that under the program “Construction of Ships for Maritime Universities in 2025-2029” (2025-2029), nearly PLN 1 billion will be allocated for the design, construction, and outfitting of these ships.
“There were the ‘Lwów’, ‘Dar Pomorza’, and ‘Dar Młodzieży’. And now… Well, here we go. We’re building a new sailing ship! What name should it bear? Share your ideas – the Maritime University in Gdynia will surely consider them. So, let’s go!” wrote Prime Minister Donald Tusk on social media.
Prof. Jemielniak: “It’s Madness”
Vice-President of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Prof. Dariusz Jemielniak, reminded that the scientific community has been striving for years to secure funding for a new research vessel (currently operating the “Oceania” – a sailing ship owned by the Institute of Oceanology of PAN, built in 1985, which – though of exceptional importance for Polish oceanographic and polar research – is already outdated). Promises had been made for many years.
“The ship was supposed to be funded – now it turns out that instead, two training vessels are to be financed. This is complete confusion of concepts – on a training ship, even if it’s called a ‘training-research’ vessel, research will not have the slightest chance of being carried out in full scope – nobody does that anywhere in the world,” Prof. Jemielniak told the Polish Press Agency (PAP). He added, “What is unprecedented here is that the issue has united different research units and institutes – it was never about appropriating the ship, but about using new research infrastructure for absolutely fundamental research needs.”
“The craziest part of all this is that yes, we do have good maritime universities that will benefit from training ships, but they educate crews who later sail under foreign flags, because Poland simply has no fleet. We can afford to subsidize workers for foreign corporations, but we cannot afford the most basic guarantee of research tools for Polish scientists who serve our science and economy. One must ask why there is even a plan for two training ships instead of two research vessels. And the fact that there are no funds even for one is simply disgraceful,” assessed Prof. Jemielniak.
Prof. Jemielniak concluded that in his view, “it is shocking that science is treated as if it were a whim or a hobby.”
“On the one hand, the finance minister himself notes that every złoty invested in research yields up to seven złotys for the economy, and on the other – investments in absolutely basic research infrastructure, critical also for the climate security of our country, are simply ignored. You cannot indefinitely do science with cardboard and duct tape,” he summed up.
Prof. Węsławski: “Unabashed Political Lobbying”
Prof. Jan Marcin Węsławski, director of the Institute of Oceanology of PAN, also addressed the issue.
He stressed, “We accept, like most of society, the priority of defense spending, even at the cost of painful funding cuts for scientists.” He added that “belt-tightening is nothing new, but in this context, the budget plan for two new training ships looks very bad.” He also pointed out that the purpose is to train “staff for the offshore industry,” noting that the Maritime University already has ships – “all operational and not old.”
“Meanwhile, a consortium of PAN institutes and the Polish Geological Institute (PIG) has been waiting for years for the repeatedly postponed decision to fund an ocean research vessel, essential to maintain the independence of Polish polar stations and Poland’s visibility in international oceanographic research. Instead of a truly necessary and well-justified research vessel, the government funds a surprise in the form of declarations completely inconsistent with saving every penny for defense. This looks like unabashed political lobbying, disregarding the country’s real needs,” emphasized Prof. Węsławski in a submitted statement.
Prof. Kaniewska: “A Record Year. Science Has Never Seen Funding This Low”
On Wednesday, during the inauguration of the academic year at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Rector Prof. Bogumiła Kaniewska pointed out that the current year is “record-breaking” in terms of science and higher education funding – but because funding has never been so low in the 21st century.
“In 2026, the percentage will be even lower. In 2025, the pay raise for university employees was 5 percent, and the following year it will be 3 percent,” said Prof. Kaniewska.
“So let us not talk about innovation if Polish researchers lack money for basic research. Let us not talk about security if it relies on the purchase of foreign equipment and licenses without investment in domestic technologies. Let us not talk about a knowledge-based economy without creating a system encouraging Polish companies to cooperate with Polish researchers,” she added.
Letter to the Authorities: Budget 2026 Must Be Revised
At the beginning of the week, academics sent an open letter to the President of Poland, the Prime Minister, and the Speakers of Parliament regarding science funding. More than 4,000 people have signed it so far.
“The presented draft budget act for 2026, which foresees about 1% of GDP for higher education and research, reduces real expenditures on science to the lowest in the 21st century relative to GDP. Among the many troubling elements of this project, we would like to draw special attention to the freezing of allocations for the National Science Centre (NCN) at the 2025 level. This deepens the crisis of basic research in Poland, threatening the very foundations of our state: its security, development, and the future of young generations,” the letter reads.
It added that freezing NCN funding “already has irreversible consequences, which will only deepen.”
Scientists demand a revision of next year’s budget and an increase in scientific research funding, including raising allocations for the National Science Centre by at least PLN 400 million.