Wisłoujście (ferry)

The history of the ferry route across the Martwa Wisła that Wisłoujście operated on goes back to the 14th century, when, among other privileges, the State of the Teutonic Order permitted the Oliwa Abbey to organize river crossings for an inn the latter operated. This ferry service would continue being served through the next centuries by various ships, most of which were cable ferries.^[2]

Wisłoujście was constructed in Kędzierzyn-Koźle in accordance with the plans of the Navicentrum Shipyard in Wrocław and outfitted at the Oder River Shipyard (Polish: Stocznia Rzeczna Odra) in Szczecin.^[1] She arrived at Gdańsk on 5 January 1976 and embarked on her maiden voyage on 4 January 1977.^[3] She was initially meant to sail across the Przekop Wisły, between Świbno (pl) and Mikoszewo. Custom-built docks were constructed for her at her two mooring locations, in Nowy Port and near the Wisłoujście Fortress.^[1]

The ferry was financed by the local Maritime Port Administration (Polish: Zarząd Portu Morskiego) and operated by Żegluga Gdańska (pl), a shipping company which was state-owned until 1989; after the post-communist privatization of state-owned enterprises occurred, the company stopped operating her in 1993. Andrzej Pieńkowski, a local businessman, then bought the ferry, forming a new company, Prom Wisłoujście Usługi Żeglugowe i Elektryczne,^[1] which operated Wisłoujście.^[4]

In 2012, the Maritime Port Administration ceased funding the ferry, and she was directly financed by the Gdańsk city government from then on.^[4] For much of her service life, the ship tended to be crowded with a significant amount of passengers during her crossings.^[5]

In April 2016, after several years of construction and delays, the Martwa Wisła Tunnel, a tunnel connecting the two sides of the river by road, was completed.^[6] This made Wisłoujście redundant, with passenger numbers dropping as much as 90%.^[1] This was criticized, as it made crossing the Martwa Wisła more difficult for pedestrians and cyclists, on account of the fact that these groups could board Wisłoujście and thus cross the river aboard her, whereas the tunnel was designed only for cars.^[7]

On 31 May 2016, Wisłoujście crossed the Martwa Wisła for the final time in a publicized event, with 55 passengers aboard.^[8][9] In June, she was put up for sale,^[10] but was not bought and was eventually scrapped at Gdańsk in August and September 2016.^[11][12]

• Motława (ship)