The gift of the Youth will have a successor. UMG has announced a tender

The Maritime University of Gdynia announced a tender to design and build a new school ship. Hold the sailboat to replace The Gift of Youth and become another showcase of Polish maritime education.

Time to succeed Youth Gift

There are units that cannot be replaced by a simple administrative decision. The Gift of Youth belongs to this category – it is not only a school ship, but also one of the most recognizable signs of Polish presence at sea.

Therefore, the announcement of a tender by the Maritime University of Gdynia is not another official public contract notice. This is the beginning of a real road to the construction of a new hold ship to take over the role of a unit raising subsequent generations of commercial fleet officers. On 23 April 2026, the case of the successor Youth Gift It came out of the announcement stage and entered the procedure, from which a concrete investment begins.

It is worth reminding here that The Gift of Youth doesn't finish his story at the waterfront. As we have recently written on our portalOn 16 April, the sailing ship left Gdynia and headed for New York City, where it will participate in the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States. On April 20, the unit was located in the Pentland Firth Strait area, separating the Orcades from the coast of Scotland – one of the most navigationally demanding crossings in Europe, known for its strong currents and variable weather.

In this sense, the decision to initiate the procedure for his successor falls at a particular moment – when the current unit still acts as the sea ambassador of Poland, but the horizon for generation change is becoming clearer.

New school ship for the Maritime University of Gdynia

Rector of the University of the Sea in Gdynia, prof. dr hab. inż. kpt. Żw. Adam Weintrit, stresses that the tender is a breakthrough for the university. The new unit is designed to combine a long-standing tradition of maritime education with modern technologies.

As the rector points out, the sailing ship will not only be a place of practice for future commercial fleet officers. He is also to serve as Ambassador of Poland to the seas and oceans, as he did for years The Gift of Youth.

"Design and build" tender

The procedure is conducted under the name ‘Project execution and delivery of the Successor Youth Gift". The university has chosen the "design and build" formula, while the procedure itself is an unlimited tender in the EU procedure.

Chancellor UMG, Mr Filip Malata, points out that both domestic and foreign contractors may participate in the proceedings if they fulfil the conditions set out in the tender documents.

Offers may be submitted from 23 April 2026. They are scheduled to open at the end of the deadline for the submission of tenders, most likely on May 25, 2026, unless the deadline is officially extended.

Holds a hybrid frigate

The new sailboat is to be a holding school frigate. According to the information provided by the engineer-in-chief Dariusz Jellonnek, director of the Department of Shipowners and Maritime Practice of the UMG, the unit will receive modern mechanical-hybrid drive with a power of about 1300 kW.

In terms of dimensions, the new ship will be slightly larger than Youth Gift. Its total length with beechspire is about 112 m, with a hull width of about 15 m. For comparison, the current sailboat is 100.8 m long and 14 m wide.

The surface of the basic sail is also to be larger. For the new unit, a minimum of 3300 m2 is provided against 3015 m2 per The Gift of Youth. The masts are to reach up to 58.4 m, while on the present ship their height is approximately 49.5 m.

Place for crew and cadets

There will be room for 169 people on board the new school ship, including 33 crew members and cadets. The number of apprentices is to remain close to the current training scale. The new unit will be able to accept 120 cadets, while The Gift of Youth Takes about 130 apprentices.

The change therefore does not mean a departure from the ship's basic function. On the contrary, the project is designed to adapt the training space, on-board functions and safety standards to modern teaching requirements.

Schedule for the construction of the successor Youth Gift

The construction of the new vessel is financed by the state budget under the Multi-Year Programme "Building Ships for Maritime Universities from 2025 to 2029".

According to the schedule, the signing of the contract for the design and construction of the sailboat is planned in 2026. In 2027 work is to begin, including sheet cutting and the position of the keel. In the same year, there was also provision for launching.

The next step will be to start engines and equip the unit. The delivery of a fully equipped sailboat is scheduled for 2028, while the start of training cadets on the new ship is expected in 2029.

Source: Maritime Office in Gdynia