On 8 May 2013, the Maritime University of Szczecin (Poland) celebrated the School festival. The programme of this year's celebration was very varied, and the focal point of the celebration was the 15th anniversary of the flag-raising on the institutional ship MS Navigator XXI.

According to tradition, flowers were laid at the memorial plaque in front of the former building of the State Maritime Academy, Al. Piast (now the Faculty of Marine Engineering and Mechatronics ZUT).

At noon, a formal sitting of the MUS Senate was held on board the Navigator XXI.

The history and fate of the Navigator XXI was presented and 'Sea Dog 2013' statuettes and the MUS Most Active Student award were handed out. This year's 'Sea Dog' became a MUS GRADUATE, Arkadiusz Wojcik - CEO of Unibaltic sp zoo. The special title of 'Honorary Sea Dog' was conferred on Prof. Alexander Walczak.

The reward and recognition award for the most active student was given to Joanna Gładysz, the fourth- year student of the Faculty of Economics and Transport Engineering at the Maritime University of Szczecin, whose major is logistics and management in the European transport system.

During the ceremony, Iwona Bartólewska - Attorney Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy - read a congratulatory letter from the Secretary of State, Anna Wypych-Namiotko, addressed to the authorities of the University of Szczecin.

The Marshal of the West Pomeranian Province, Olgierd Geblewicz, the Vice President of Szczecin, Krzysztof Soska and the Dean of the Faculty of Navigation of the Maritime University of Gdynia, Adam Weintrit, PhD, Master Mariner, were also congratulated.

The most spectacular part of the school festivities was organized on board the Navigator XXI, including a demonstration of a sea rescue exercise involving sniffer dogs.

In addition to representatives of the University in Szczecin (students and Marine Rescue Training Centre), representatives of the Maritime Office in Szczecin, Border Guard officers PFSO (Port Facility Security Officer) port facilities, and the Pomeranian Volunteer Ambulance Service also took part in the exercises.

In the afternoon, all MUS employees and students enjoyed a picnic, a sports tournament, and a concert by the 'Old Smuggler' shanty band.

15th Anniversary

The Maritime University's training and research vessel was launched on May 24, 1997, at the Gdansk Repair Shipyard and christened by Jolanta Kwaśniewska, the wife of the former President of Poland.

The flag-raising ceremony took place on 30 January 1998. The ship entered service with the Maritime College as it was then known, acting both as a training base for students, as well as a base for carrying out all kinds of research and studies concerning navigation and the marine environment.

Navigator XXI does not only represent the prestige of the University, but is also responsible for a number of tasks.

It is used, among other things, for monitoring the state of the Baltic Sea and other areas, taking water samples at different depths and in different parts of the marine environment, soil samples from the bottom surface and subsurface, processing samples in the laboratory and transmitting the data to on-shore receivers.

The ship also performs educational functions - students are trained in the field of navigation, operation of the power station, operation of on-board devices and facilities as well as co-operation during research projects. This is where future sailors practise their seamanship for the first time.