The conference was organised by the Faculty of Economics and Transport Engineering at the Maritime University of Szczecin and the West Pomeranian Maritime Cluster Association.
Seven, delivered in a hybrid mode, sessions were held during the conference, included indoor (Technopark Pomerania) and on platform Zoom presentations.



Among the attendees and the speakers were representatives of the Szczecin City Hall, the Marshal's Office, the Maritime Office, The Office of Inland Navigation, Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority, DB Port Szczecin and universities - including the Maritime University in Szczecin, the University of Gdańsk, the Warsaw School of Economics, the Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Faculty of Economics and Transport Engineering  annual conferences

This is the second major conference, after Green Cities, co-organised recently by the Faculty of Economics and Transport Engineering of MUS, The Faculty wants to host and organise every year, alternately, interdisciplinary conferences related to the main issues tackled by the Faculty Staff and related also to the courses offered by FETE.
In this regard, the Safety&Security conference is part of the ongoing promotion of a well-established bachelor's degree course in FETE educational offer - management with a specialisation in organisational safety. The opening of a postgraduate programme with the same profile is being scheduled soon.

Presentations at this year's conference were focused on:
- social security in its broadest sense (including measures taken within urban areas, environmental protection, procedures at workplaces, energy sufficiency)
safety in the maritime economy and transport systems with particular focus on maritime and inland waterway transport  (e.g. pollution monitoring, security of port operations, transport companies stable funding issues, hazard elimination opportunities, aspects of seafarers' psychological well-being).

Emphasis on practice

Chairman of the Organising Committee, Andrzej Montwiłł,  PhD Eng., stressed - the speakers, in tune with our suggestions, placed particular emphasis on practical issues. The presentations showing real security systems in operation in specific companies of various branches were very informative. The practical aspect of specific cases is an excellent illustration of whether particular risk prevention and elimination procedures put in place are functioning properly or not.
A very interesting presentation of Dr Piotr Ostrowski analysed the case of a bomb alarm (fortunately, as it turned out, false) on one of the Polish ferries. He presented how the action was carried out, its range and the pace of the response to the threat, and - what was particularly important - which elements from this action could be improved and enhanced.

Hydrogen - the fuel of the future

Another interesting talk was given by Professor Alexander Balitskii, who discussed several aspects of hydrogen infrastructure safety. The issue may sound somewhat futuristic, but work to commercialise the use of hydrogen in many areas of the economy is already well advanced.
 Years ago, Toyota launched the Mirai, the first series-produced car powered by hydrogen fuel cells (the 2nd generation is now in production). This model was the official vehicle for transporting athletes and their teams during the XXXII Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
We experience these days, the beginning of the energy sources transformation process, and what will drive it, is the development of technologies for hydrogen production, storage and conversion. The presentation outlined a few, the most up to date issues, including various options for hydrogen storage.  This is quite a challenge for engineers, because hydrogen penetrates many materials from which the containers are made.

The eternal problem for producers of electricity power - how to store it - may have found its solution. The conversion of surplus electricity  (preferably from renewable sources) into hydrogen and recovering it in a reverse process is one of the best options available for ensuring power security. It is only up to scientists and investors to adapt this process to industrial conditions.

Offshore wind energy (OWE)

At the end of the conference, Andrzej Montwiłł, PhD Eng., presented some issues related to the development of Polish offshore wind energy in the context of developing Poland's electric power sufficiency as well as social security, with eco-friendly investments able to stop damaging global climate change.
West Pomerania region is very active in this field. This is reflected in two programmes Szczecin Offshore 2025 implemented by the City of Szczecin and Zachodniopomorskie Offshore 2027 carried out by the Marshal's Office and the municipalities and cities of Szczecin, Darłowo, Kołobrzeg and Świnoujście.

Conclusions

 Safety & Security International Conference was a very valuable experience, it was an excellent overview of the latest trends and became a platform for exchanging thoughts, remarks and observations between scientists and professionals who work in companies of many industries.
Scientific papers (in English), after passing the necessary verification procedure, will be published in 2022 in Scientific Journals of the Maritime University of Szczecin or, as a special issue, in Research in Transportation Business & Management (Elsevier).