Bulletin of the Maritime Institute Gdansk, 1992,19,2 Janusz Gqsiorowski, M. Sc. Jur. Department of Economics and Maritime Law The Maritime Institute in Gdansk THE LEGAL SITUATION OF PORTS OF SZCZECIN AND SWINOUJSCIE AND OF THE ROADSTEADS BEFORE THE 11-ND WORLD WAR Abstract The author characterizes the legal status of the ports in Szczecin and Swinoujscie. Problems connected with the ownership of the port and its management before World War II are presented. The administrative boundaries of the port, and the role and competen­ ces1of shipping organs are discussed. The development and import­ ance of the port at Swinoujscie, as well as the role of the waterway Swinoujscie- Szczecin, its legal status, boundaries and compulsory pilot services are described. Problems connected with the concept of roadsteads of these two ports are presented. 32 J. Gl!siorowski I. PORT OF SZCZECIN 1. Legal situation of the port- the problem of ownership and port authority Contrary to small Baltic ports which were taken over by Prussia in 1870 - 1896 as state (Land) property, larger municipal port centers maintained their independence until the World War I. In Prussia these were the ports of Kiel, Szczecin, Gdansk and Kr6lewiec (Konigsberg). However, when they had to ask for help of the Prussian Land, they were not - as once Emden - transformed into state-owned ports, but obtained certain larger autonomy in port ad­ ministration. Experience showed that within general port administra­ tion, exploitation should have possibilities of acting on commercial principles, without beaurocratic ballast [1]. In 1923, the Port of Szczecin, which was _administered exclusively by the town, became an example of applying stronger connections and l simultaneously making the port authority independent. The Szczecin port became joint property of the Prussian Land and the City which, in order to administer jointly the port, formed a civil law company under the name Szczecin Port Partnership (Stettiner Hafengemeinschaft) [2]. Both partners were to administer and de­ velop jointly port facilities and the port railway. For participation in the administration, a Port Council (Hafenbeirat) was established, in which were 4 representatives of the City (in that the President of the Council), 3 representatives of Prussian Land and 2 representatives of the corporation of Szczecin merchants. If the Port Council and Port Partnership differed in opinion, the final decision belonged to the MARITIME LAW 33 President General of Szczecin. The partnership was to close activities when capital invested by Prussia became amortized. At the same time the Prussian Land, City and Szczecin Merchant Corporation formed a limited liability company under the name "Szczecin Port Exploitation Company" (Stettiner Hafenbetriebs Ge­ sellschaft m.b.H.). This company was called to exploit the port fa­ cilities owned by the Port Partnership. In exchange for port facilities passed over to the Port Exploitation Co., the Szczecin Port Partner­ ship collected rent. In the first years it was a fraction of the value of these facilities ( 4 - 2% ), and from 1925 it was 5% of monthly oper­ ational income [3]. Shortly after the Szczecin Port Partnership and the Port Exploi­ tation Company were formed, it became visible that the existence of these two bodies beside each other was not a good solution. The Port Exploitation Co., managed according to commercial principles and free of beaurocratic ballast was on one hand not aple to fulfill, even in part, its obligations to the Port Partnership, but on the other hand it demanded privileges in the port which were onesidedly advantageous to the corporation of Szczecin merchants. Misunderstandings con­ cerning competence impeded administering. Therefore the Prussian Land and the City decided to eliminate the Merchant Corporation from the Port Exploitation Co .. Its shares were taken over in half by the Land and the City. In this way, in 1929 the Szczecin Port Partner­ ship merged with the Port Exploitation Co .. A limited liability com­ pany named "Szczecin Port Company" was formed (Stettiner Hafengesellschaft m.b.H.) [4]. The Szczcecin Port Co. became the owner of all the port areas, including water areas, was obliged to 34 J. G<!siorowski develop the port from own and foreign resources, and managed all the port facilities, storage areas and port railway. The Prussian Land and City of Szczecin were equal shareholders of the company, whose capital was 50 min Mk [5]. The Supervisory Board had 22 members, in that 9 representatives of Prussian Land, 9 representatives of the City and 4 representatives of the Trade and Industry Chamber of Szczecin. However, this last, as the legal successor of the Szczecin Merchant Corporation, sold its shares to the Port Exploitation Co. before it merged with the Szczecin Port Partnership [6]. This legal status was maintained until the fall of the III Reich. 2. Administrative boundaries of the port According to port regulations, to the Szczecin port's area be­ longed the river Odra and its tributaries, including all branchings and connected with them run-offs, channels, port basins and side branches of channels which were within the boundaries determined by the following lines: a) from the boundaries of Kurowo and Ustowo- west bank of the Kurowski Channel to northwards until the west bank of Odra; b) west bank of Odra from the northern extremity of the Skolwinski Channel; c) from northern extremity of Skolwinski Channel to eastward until the Skolwin Buoy, and from there to the northern tip of the Dttbina Island (north extremity of the Cutt) eastwards of the Skolwinski Channel; d) west bank of Babina and Czapina until Lake Dqbie outlet; e) west and north bank of Lake Dqbie until outlet of Dqbski Stream; MARITIME LAW 35 f) south bank of Dqbski Stream, east bank of Regalica and Zeglinski Stream (Zeggelinstrom) till the boundaries of Szczecin-Zdr6j and . Szczecin-Podjuchy; g) line to westwards crossing Regalica, west bank of Regalica until Obnica; h) north and west bank of Obnica until Odra; i) north bank of Odra to the height of the boundary of Kurowo and Ustowo; j) line to westwards across Odra and Kurowski Channel, until the boundary between Kurowo and Ustowo [7]. It should be said that in a document of the Szczecin magistrate on plans of port development, as the area of the Port of Szczecin were considered cargo handling locations lying along the Odra and along connected with the Odra waters from Police to Pomorzany inclusive. On the north this area is outside the boundaries specifieg in the port regulations. 3. Shipping organs Within the Port of Szczecin area, the state police authority was represented by the Port Police Office (Hafenpolizeiamt) [9]. Among others, the Port Police Office was responsible for keeping order in the port and supervision over observance of port regulations [10]. The right to issue port regulations, both for the Szczecin port and for state-owned ports of the Szczecin District, belonged to the President General of the city. Issuance of these regulations depended on the agreement of the Provincial Council (Provinzialrat) [11 ]. The Szczecin harbour master (earlier the port shipping authority - Stadtische 36 J. G<!siorowski Hafenschiffahrtsamt) [12] was a functionary of the Szczecin Port Co. [13], therefore he had no police powers, except assigning berths for ships entering port [14]. The port pilots were subordinated to the harbour master [15]. Besides, Szczecin was the seat of the Shipping Authority, an organ appointed to carry out the Sailors Act of June 2, 1902. The main task of the Authority was to issue continuous discharge books and enlist­ ment of crews, and besides it carried out certain police and jurisdiction tasks. It led inquiries and settled, in a 3-person committee, offences against the Saliors Act [17]. The Water Construction Board (Waserbauamt) in Szczecin ad­ ministered the water route between the north boundary of the Port of Szczecin and the Chelminek Island. The Port Construction Board (Hafenbauamt) at Swinoujscie administered the remaining part of the water route between the Ch_~lminek Island and sea and on the Szczecin Lagoon, and was subjected to the Water Construction Directorate (Wasserbaudirektion) in Szczecin which was a II-nd instance organ subjected to the President General of Szczecin [18]. Besides, there was the "Water Route Sea Council for the outlet part of Odra River" (Seewasserstrassenbeirat fiir die Miindungss­ trecken der Oder). This was an organ which expressed opinions in matters of construction and other works on the water route, water management, shipping regulations, shipping dues, etc. The Council consisted of the Chairman and V -Chairman nominated by the Minister of Transport of the Reich, of one representative of the Reich Rail­ ways, and of experts representing ocean and coastal shipping, spedi­ tors, ports, shipowners, commerce, industry, agriculture, forestry, MARITIME LAW 37 fishery, and other participants, which also were nominated by the Minister of Transport [19]. II. PORT AT SWINOUJSCIE 1. The port's standing In distinction from Szczecin, the Port of Swinoujscie was state owned. As several other Baltic ports, such as Sassnitz, Kolobrzeg, Ustka, Darlowo, Pilawa and Klajpeda, it was taken over by Prussia [20]. Port management in the widest sense, i.e. executing state power, port administration and exploitation, was performed by the Port De­ velopment Board (Hafenbauamt). This Authority, as a I-st instance organ, was subje~ted to the President General of Szczecin, who acted through the Water Construction Directorate in Szczecin as III-rd instance organ [21]. The Port Development Board collected in one hand the competences of the harbour master's office, shipping office (Seemansamt), harbour police (Hafenpolizei), shipping police (Schif­ fahrspolizeibehorde) and of port authority in exploitation sense [22]. The port surveyor (Hafenmeister) at Swinoujscie was simultaneously an auxilliary officer (Hilfsbeamter) of the public prosecutor's office [23].