Natural, Technical and Social Threats and Their Impact on the Safety of Polish Offshore Urban Agglomerations

Abstract

The links between a port and its city, region and further economic hinterland mean that the socio-economic processes taking place in a seaport affect not only the economic and social phenomena occurring in the port itself, but also the development processes on a regional and national scale, which directly affect hundreds of thousands of people. The research problem is: How to eliminate port threats that translate directly into urban and community safety? The goal is to be able to recognise and minimise threats and implement solutions that ensure not only the safety of ports but also of neighbouring urban agglomerations. Seaport development plans must be correlated with the development of port security systems and measures. The transformation of ports into fourth-generation ports brings with it an increase in technical threats which obliges both the governmental maritime administration and port operators to pay special attention to security. The study used theoretical research methods, i.e. literature analysis, analysis of phenomena occurring in the economy and inference as a cognitive factor of the analysed subject. The results of the research indicate that ensuring security, i.e. minimising threats, before emergencies arise, in port cities and regions is a guarantee not only of smooth development and functioning of the economy but also of undisturbed international cooperation and exchange. The use of appropriate solutions to minimise the threats associated with the activities of seaports significantly affects not only their safety but also the safety of the port urban agglomerations and the maritime transport chain. As a result, it contributes to the urban and economic development of port cities and entire regions.