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« on: August 09, 2012, 10:32:46 AM »
Do you know Gdansk Shipyard? Yes, the one of Lech Walesa fame, Peace Noble Prize winner and - later - president of the Republic of Poland. The shipyard, where so called "August Agreements" were signed, in 1980, being the start for great political and economy system change in the whole Central and Eastern Europe and a trigger for breakdown of Berlin Wall and USSR.
Nowadays, the yard, after several years of changing of ownership status, idleness periods, ups and downs, is finally up and alive, with more certain future - it seems, under private Ukrainian ownership, investing and diversifying into windfarm turbine towers manufacturing, robotized production lines, etc. However for years now, the yard (earlier famous for building of many interesting ships, including Dar Mlodziezy, Mir and other tall ships) has not build any in-house designed and fully outfitted ship. It builds quite complex ships (like offshore support / subsea construction and well intervention vessels or seismic research vessels, with engines and much of the specialist seismic gear installed), but these are all only partially outfitted hulls sold to Nordic (mainly Norwegian) and Western European yards.
The yard, with restrictions imposed by European Commission, is confined to (large enough) area on the island only plus a single leased slipway in major former shipyard area (where also the historical workplace of Lech Walesa happens to be). In general prediction or plans the yard will be all moved to the island in future leaving the whole old shipyard area for redevelopment. Today last buildings of the old shipyard are being demolished (to cries of lovers of traditional architecture and historical monuments). In some parts of the yard (outside the island, where production is concentrated now), partly demolished - old workshops and production halls are occupied by culture centres, artist's colonies, clubbing areas, etc.
"Dark", industrial atmosphere of inactive area of the "old" Gdansk Shipyard, is sometimes used for big rock concerts (like David Gilmour or Jean Michelle Jarre) and as location for video shooting.
Piotr Pawlowski, bass guitarist, former member of the once legendary Poland's alternative and cold wave group Made in Poland, after becoming the HR specialist for Gdansk Shipyard and moving to Gdansk, initiated a new group called The Shipyard. Whatever the reason for naming the new rock group "The Shipyard", some say the band launches "musical torpedoes" appropriate for the 21st century. Indeed, the music of The Shipyard offers power and freshness long time forgotten by Tricity (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot) - once the Polish center for strongest innovative trends and best alternative rock music.
The newest video of the band features the shipyard itself. Although most of the pictures seen come from "old part" of Gdansk Shipyard (now mostly demolished or at least abandoned), there are also some views from other shipyards in Gdansk. For example at 1:42 and 2:50 floating docks of Gdansk Shiprepair Yard "Remontowa" SA appear. "Remontowa" has nothing to do with Gdansk Shipyard, even historically. "Remontowa" is known, among other accomplishments, from upgrading and converting Awilco and Safe drilling and hotel semi-subs and jack-ups or converting a tanker into FPSO Cidade de Rio das Ostras for Teekay and Petrobras. The final scene of the music video show launching of the L