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1 INTRODUCTION

The policy of sustainable development, limited

possibilities of expanding the road and railway

infrastructure at the back of seaports in Poland cause

that with the increase of port turnover, problems with

their servicing increase. Therefore, the inland

waterway transport, environmentally friendly and not

requiring additional areas, is being included to

support sea ports with a distribution of its loads.

Inland waterways are not loaded with congestion,

they have large capacity reserves, and the large

capacity of the fleet and its mass allow for quick

discharge of congestion in ports. One large sea ship

can be served by 60 river vessels (225 trains and 9,000

cars), which additionally allows to increase the

transhipment efficiency. [Król'17]

The development of the Szczecin-Świnoujście and

Gdańsk ports makes it possible to observe increasing

pressure to raise the river class of the Oder and

Vistula, so that both rivers can be actively involved in

handling cargo delivered to the two largest seaports

in Poland. Thanks to such activities, it would be

possible to transfer a large part of logistics streams

from existing means of road and rail transport to river

transport vehicles. This is in line with the adopted

European Union transport policy, which assumes that

by the year 2030 30% of freight transported at

distances greater than 300 km should be delivered by

rail or water transport, and by 2050 - more than 50%

[White Paper] . This provision of the White Paper

aims to facilitate the development of ecologically

effective transport corridors. In connection with this,

it is planned to connect the most important seaports

with rail and river transport [Christowa'18].

The choice of inland waterway transport as an

alternative to road transport results from three

characteristics of this mode of transport:

 lower energy intensity - water transport is the

most energy efficient form of transport. Diesel

consumption by inland waterway transport for

every 100 tonne-kilometres is lower than for other

The Analysis of Offenses in Inland Navigation in Poland

2013-2017

E. Skupień, A. Tubis & M. Rydlewski

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland

ABSTRACT: The article presents an analysis of offenses in inland navigation in 2013-2017, based on the number

and reasons for issuing fines by Offices of Inland Navigation in Poland. In the investigated period, in Poland,

over 1,300 fines were issued on the basis of five articles of the Act of 21st of December 2000 on Inland

Navigation. Based on the collected data, the most common reasons for punishing crews of inland vessels were

determined and the impact of these offenses on the safety of inland navigation in Poland was identified. In

addition, recommendations for changes in the classification of offenses were presented due to the too wide

spectrum of individual articles, which adversely affects the ability to interpret the most common offenses and

makes it difficult to assess the causes and effects of their occurrence.

http://www.transnav.eu

the International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 13

Number 1

March 2019

DOI: 10.12716/1001.13.01.15

152

forms of transport, such as rail or car

[Gołębiowski’16];

 lower emissions - according to German and EU

data, the external costs of inland water transport is

many times less than for other forms of transport.

The external cost of transport using inland

waterways for 1000 tonne-km is 19 euro less

compared to the same transport by road

[Wojewódzka-Król‘14] and

 a higher level of transport safety.

This third aspect is of particular importance in the

research carried out by the authors, because it is

safety that is considered as one of the key parameters

describing the quality of transport [Rolbiecki'15].

Since inland waterway transport is perceived as one

of the safest transport systems, it is assumed that the

increase in its use in transport of cargoes may play a

special role in the process of improving the security of

transport in whole supply chains. This is due to the

fact that the number of registered accidents and

breakdowns in this mode of transport is much smaller

than the others, which positively affects the

assessment of the safety of transport operations.

Transport safety is concerned with the protection of

life and goods through regulation, supervision and

technology development of all forms of transportation

[Marquez’14]. In the safety analysis relating to

waterway transport, it has been concluded that the

boat is a major factor, also finding that passenger

boats like barges, tugs and tankers, are the vessels

that produce the greatest consequences when an

accident occurs; likewise, the risk in navigation

increases significantly caused by external factors such

as bad weather and waterway conditions [Zhang et

al.’13].

2 INLAND WATERWAY SAFETY

Due to the fact that inland waterway transport takes

place in limited area, in order to ensure its proper

functioning, it is important to define safe navigation

conditions within the entire inland waterway

transport system. For this reason, safety is described

by the following function [Łozowicka'15]:



,, , ,

ii iii

fDPHSI (1)

where:

B – safety indicator for inland navigation,

i – waterway parameters,

i – inland port parameters,

i – inland vehicles parameters,

i – hydro-meteorological conditions parameters,

i – traffic intensity parameters.

As it can be seen, the safety of transport in inland

navigation depends on a number of independent

variables, which are factors affecting the relations

between inland vessels and waterways, on which they

navigate. Research conducted by Kaup and

Łozowicka [Kaup'16] indicate that the most frequent

events on inland vessels include: technical failures,

fires and collisions with other vessels or infrastructure

facilities. Due to the parameters of waterways and

navigation in restricted waters, inland vessels are

exposed to grounding and close contact with other

vessels. For this reason, one of the basic factors that

have a major impact on the safety of navigation on

limited waters are the prevailing hydrometeorological

conditions and the intensity and intensity of traffic in

a given place and time [Łozowicka'15].

Another factor that can cause accidents on inland

waterways are the parameters of waterways (e.g.

length, width, depth) and the occurrence of numerous

hydrotechnical objects on them, including canals,

weirs, locks, slipways or water stages. They constitute

a potential source of danger in the event of their

malfunction or improper operation. Infrastructure

objects located above the waterway (e.g. high voltage

lines, pipelines), should also be maintained in a good

technical condition, because in the case of even

unfavourable weather conditions they may pose a

potential threat to the units passing under them

[Kaup'15]. Still other factors causing accidents are the

technical condition and parameters of inland vessels,

which are largely determined by the date and place of

their production [Łozowicka'15].

At the same time, studies on water transport

systems indicate that the cause of accidents are most

often [Neumann'18]:

 accidents reason by unmeant human failure,

 accidents reason intentionally by man,

 accidents due to technical failures,

 accidents due to poor weather.

In order to increase the level of safety in the

existing transport systems, telematics solutions are

being implemented more and more often. The

inclusion of inland waterway transport into

integrated transport chains, as recommended by the

European Commission, also requires the use of

telematics solutions to optimize and improve the

processes of cargo and passenger transport [Kaup'14].

These systems, through the combination of IT and

technical tools, are designed to effectively use the

existing in a given place and time linear and point

infrastructure of inland waterway transport. Also in

Poland, the RIS (River Information System) system

was introduced. The basic task of this system is to

create an interoperable, intelligent traffic and

transport management system, in order to optimize

existing transport capacity, increase the level of

inland waterway transport safety and improve

interaction with other modes of transport [Report'13].

The functioning of this solution is to ensure the

improvement of navigational safety on inland

waterways [Kaup'14].

Including inland waterway transport into

functioning supply chains, however, means

generating increased traffic on inland waterways.

This will significantly affect the parameters of water

traffic intensity, which are one of the elements

affecting the presented safety indicator. The intensity

of traffic is associated with an increase in the

requirements for the crew, in the aspect of

maintaining adequate caution in inland waterway

traffic and limiting dangerous behaviour. The state

should, therefore, ensure appropriate conditions for

carrying out the transport, guaranteeing proper

behaviour of crew members serving river vessels. One

of the tools that can be used are appropriately

formulated legal provisions that explicitly determine

153

possible offenses together with the penalties assigned

to them. As experience from the road transport

system shows, the amount of these penalties

significantly affects the respect of applicable laws

[www].

3 INLAND NAVIGATION TRAFFIC

REGULATIONS IN POLAND

While navigating on rivers, ships and their crew can

undergo the inspection by Office of Inland

Navigation, on which area they navigate. The

inspection can be routine or caused by delation,

suspicious behaviour or as a consequence of an

accident.

In Poland regulations on traffic on inland

waterways are gathered in Act of 21st of December

2000 on Inland Navigation [Act’00]. This Act regulates

matters related to sailing in inland waters recognized

as navigable under the provisions of the Water Law

[Water’17]. In specific the act sets out:

 administration authorities and their competences;

 conditions of navigation;

 rules for keeping an administrative registers;

 safety requirements;

 rules for the classification and maintenance of

inland waterways;

 proceedings in the event of an accident; and

 penal provisions.

In terms of the Act on Inland Navigation, directors

of Offices of Inland Waterways in Poland are to

adjudicate about guilt in an accident and inspectors of

this offices are entitled to give a mandate for offences.

Fine penalties are granted for offenses under

articles 58-62 of section 9 Act on Inland Navigation

[Act’00].

The article 58 says: Who:

1 performs the carriage of loads contrary to the transport

documents or without a proof of payment for the

contribution to the Inland Navigation Fund,

2 performs carriage by a foreign ship not in accordance

with the provisions of international agreements or

transport permits,

3 sail in a foreign ship without a required permit,

4 does not fulfil the obligation to submit a registration

form,

5 performs commercial transport of goods by ship with

load capacity greater than 200t without meeting the

professional ability requirement,

6 destroys, damages, moves or uses nautical signs for

mooring or dragging ships,

7 makes it impossible or difficult for inspectors of offices of

inland waterways to carry out their tasks,

is subject to a fine.

The article 59 says: Who opposes the obligation of:

1 entry of the ship into the register,

2 measurement of the ship,

3 immediately notify about the occurrence of a shipping

accident,

4 providing assistance in rescue operations,

is subject to a fine.

The article 60 says: Who navigates a ship without a

valid ship security document or a one-time travel permit is

subject to a fine.

The article 61 says: Who:

1 navigates a ship or occupies a position of a ship's crew

member without having an appropriate qualification

document,

2 being a member of the ship's crew, does not have a

document confirming health conditions appropriate to

the position,

being a member of the ship's crew, does not have a

nautical work book,

is subject to a fine.

The article 62 says: Who goes against the regulations

regarding:

1 traffic and signalling on inland waterways,

2 marking, equipment and documents of ships,

3 conditions of traffic and docking of ships on the

navigable route and in ports,

4 the composition of the ship's crew and working time

standards,

5 transport of hazardous materials by ships,

6 pilotage on inland waterways,

7 sanitary conditions on ships,

8 safety and work hygiene conditions on ships,

9 environmental protection,

is subject to a fine.

4 OFFENSES IN INLAND NAVIGATION IN

POLAND 2013-2017

Since 1st of October 2018, in Poland there were 8

offices of inland navigation (now there are 3). They

had their offices in: Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Giżycko,

Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Kraków, Szczecin, Warszawa and

Wrocław.

Based on mandates given by inspectors of offices

of inland navigation in Poland in the years ‘13-‘17,

authors of this paper undertook a probe of estimation

a security status on Polish inland waterways.

The goal of this research was to point out the most

common reasons for punishing the crews of inland

vessels and the impact of these offenses on the safety

of inland navigation in Poland. It appears to be

difficult to fulfill because the cause of given mandate

is always described with a number of an article of the

Act (without further details), and mandates are often

granted for more than one offence.

Figure 1 presents numbers of mandates given by

Polish Offices of Inland Navigation in the years 2013-

2017. The number of mandates given by specific

Offices of Inland Navigation is correlated with an

area of operating. Gdansk and Szczecin operate on

estuary of big rivers and in the area of seaports.

Wroclaw has most of Polish canalized river sections

under its jurisdiction. And Gizycko is responsible for

Masurian Lake District, where many tourists sail. As a

consequence – this four offices give over 75% of all

mandated on Polish inland waterways. The other four

offices gives less than 10% of all mandates each.

154

Figure 1. Share of mandates given by offices of inland

navigation in the years 2013-2017

Figure 2. Number of mandates given by offices of inland

navigation in Poland in the years 2013-2017

Number of mandates given by particular offices of

inland navigation over 5 analyzed years differ, as it

can be seen on figure 2. It was caused by different

duration of navigation season on area of offices

jurisdiction – caused by e.g. navigation conditions

and closing/opening waterway sections due to

renovation of hydrotechnical equipment.

To refer to the safety of inland navigation in

Poland, types of offenses connected to ships traffic are

important. Figure 3 shows distribution of the given

mandates due to the reason (by articles of the Act).

The results of the carried out research shows that

over 60% of mandates were given as a result of

violation of article 62, and less than 5% of them were

about the article 58.

Figure 3. Distribution of mandates given by offices of inland

navigation in the years 2013-2017 due to the reason

Figure 4. Distribution of reason of giving mandates by

particular offices of inland navigation in the years 2013-2017

Figure 5. Share of particular offices in the given mandates

by the reasons

At the same time most of offices (5 of 8) gave more

than half of all mandates due to article 62 (figure 4).

Most of mandates were given with a similar share by

all of offices. Only mandates given due to the article

58 were mostly (over 70%) given by office of Szczecin

(figure 5).

As the mandates are given for offences described

by whole article of the Act, the authors tried to find a

general rule for each of them or at least shorten the

definition. The article 58 concerns mostly navigating

contrary to the transport documents; destroying

nautical signs and making it difficult for inspectors to

155

work. The article 59 concerns ships documents and

acting in the event of accident. The article 60 is short

itself and concerns navigating without security

document or a permit. The article 61 concerns crew

documents. The article 62 concerns traffic regulations;

ships equipment, crews working conditions and

environmental protection.

Previously it was indicated that over 60% of all

offences concerns article 62. That is the most extensive

article and concerns many problems, but is the only

one article concerning traffic on waterways. It may be

assumed that the traffic is the reason of most of the

offences. Therefor it would be strongly recommended

to extend the traffic issue and make the regulations

more specific in this field.

Nearly 20% of all mandates are given due to the

crew documents.

Smaller offices (Warszawa, Krakow, Kedzierzyn-

Kozle and Bydgoszcz) also give about 20% penalties

for lack of navigating permission.

Problem of ships documents is divers in all of

offices.

Office of Inland Navigation in Szczecin also marks

a problem with navigating contrary to the transport

documents; destroying nautical signs and making it

difficult for inspectors to work. The problem with

transport documents may be partly caused by the fact

that this office has under its jurisdiction international

waterway – border Oder.

5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE

CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENSES

The Act on Inland Navigation concerns many

important issues, one of them are offences in

navigating on Polish inland waterways. The

regulations included in 4 articles may be divided into

6 main groups - concerning:

1 ships documents,

2 crew documents,

3 ships equipment and crew composition,

4 traffic regulations,

5 acting in case of accident, making work of

inspectors harder, destroying nautical signs and

6 other.

Unfortunately this 4 articles and 6 pointed groups

do not match. All of this issues are mixed in articles

what makes it difficult to interpret.

The case of (1) ships documents appear in 3 of this

articles, (2) crew documents in 2 articles, (3) ships

equipment and crew composition is a part of a 1

article, similar to (4) traffic regulations, which could

be a subject of one extended article. (5) Acting in case

of accident, making work of inspectors harder,

destroying nautical signs are spread out in 3 articles,

instead of being in one.

The lack of clear order in the list of offences make

it hard to interpret for safety research but also for

inspectors and the punished. Dividing the offences in

a clear way could be helpful also for analyzing by

Central Statistical Office and other analyzes

conducted by researchers to improve conditions of

navigating on Polish inland waterways.

During investigated 5 years, Polish offices of

inland navigation registered 1386 mandates, which

makes over 277 mandates per year. In the year 2017

Polish inland waterway ships transported over 75

thousand tkm [CSO’18] which gives 3,7 mandates for

each 1 thousand tkm. Taking into account the fact,

that ships has a great load (ships exploited on Polish

waterways has on average 500ton capacity) - Polish

inland ships crews gets mandates quite often

(approximately once at every 150km of

transportation). This leads to the conclusion that in

spite not very clear regulations, inspectors of offices

of inland navigation in Poland work quite effective.

6 CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of conducted investigation, the authors

made some recommendations for changes in the

classification of offenses due to the too wide spectrum

of individual articles, which adversely affects the

ability to interpret the most common offenses and

makes it difficult to assess the causes and effects of

their occurrence. Nevertheless it is noticeable that

most mandates are connected to traffic offences which

has a direct impact on navigation safety.

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