Dear Readers, This is the second 2021 issue of our journal (No. 66). We are slowly seeing the world normalize after the COVID-19 pandemic, and we look forward to a complete return to our usual routines and to meeting again at conferences, seminars and research internships. Let us all hope that this will come true soon. Research results and author opinions are presented across seven articles in this issue, which are summarized in three thematic groups: Civil Engineering and Transport, Mechanical Engineering and Economics, Management and Quality Science.

Many factors affect ship values, but the most important is freight rates. This effect is more dynamic, especially in the dry bulk market, which has characteristics close to a perfectly competitive market. The literature does not provide a complete answer about whether the effects of freight on ship values differ by ship type and age in the market; therefore, this study examined the effect of changes in the freight rates of the main ship types used in the dry bulk market on their values in different age groups. The ship types included in the study are Capesize, Panamax, and Handymax vessels, while the age groups are newbuilds, 5-year-old, and 10-year-old ships. Individual regression models were established and analyses were applied for each category. According to the obtained results, smaller vessels were more affected by changes in freight rates, and the effect of changes in freight rate increased with the age of the ship. Also, the price volatility of smaller ships was lower, while it was higher for older ships. It is hoped that these results may provide comparative results by ship type and guide industry stakeholders in reducing risks.

This article discusses issues related to the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Polish universities. The first part of the article presents the essence of CSR, and the next part focuses on the degree of involvement of universities in Poland in CSR activities. Afterwards, the CSR activities were grouped based on conceptual areas in accordance with the ISO 26000 standard. Moreover, the most popular socially responsible tools and practices at Polish universities were analysed. The main aim of the article is to present the level of corporate social responsibility and identify its main areas at the top 10 universities in Poland according to The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021. The article uses the literature query method and analyses and evaluates documents, reports, and websites. The research carried out at the top 10 Polish universities showed that all these entities are involved in socially responsible activities by taking into account social, environmental, and employee aspects in their activities. They are organizations that feel responsible for their activities and take into account the needs of their stakeholders, both internal and external.

Environmental pollution is a growing concern for many organizations, commissions, state governments, and companies. The use of fossil fuels in transportation contributes significantly to increased emissions of harmful sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Maritime transport, as one of the largest emitters of such harmful compounds, has encountered many emission restrictions and legal limitations. These include the creation of areas of strict exhaust gas control (ECA). According to the MARPOL Convention, Annex VI, Special Emission Control Areas have been in force since 01.01.2015, and they include the following areas: the Baltic Sea, North Sea, North America (covering the designated coasts of the USA and Canada and portions of the Caribbean Sea near the USA). According to current regulations, vessels providing services in ECAs are required to maintain sulphur oxide emissions that do not exceed 0.1%. The introduction of new regulations results in costs that have to be covered by shipowners. To meet these standards, the two most popular methods are the use of special flushing systems (scrubbers) and low-sulphur fuels (e.g., LNG). This publication addresses the use of LNG as fuel for the main propulsion of sea-going vessels operating in areas covered by strict sulphur emission controls. It also presents LNG demand forecasts for various ship types, as well as possible solutions satisfying the Sulphur Directive. The purpose of this paper is to present a way to determine the size of the global demand for LNG. The percentage of vessels powered by LNG and other fuels was used as a basis for estimating global LNG demand in shipping until 2030.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the strict anti-epidemic measures introduced by various countries have accelerated the transformation of tourism around the world. The industry has lost hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of jobs. At the same time, digital startups have entered the market, and new opportunities for individual tours and formats of international cooperation have appeared. Trends for modern travelers are widespread lowcost, p2p services for tourists, which exclude intermediaries from the supply chain and allow the creation of unique and personalized travel experiences. At the present stage of the tourism sector development, information technologies and software tools play an important role. Evolution and technological progress have penetrated the tourism market and the organization of excursion activities. For example, unique multimedia guides for mobile phones using GPS navigation have been developed for tourists. Historically, transport has been a fundamental component of the tourism sector and has allowed tourists to travel comfortably and quickly. Advantages and disadvantages of a trip throughout a city on a sightseeing bus are considered. In this paper, we analyze the most popular market software for mobile applications for navigating tourists during travel. Such applications are generally very popular due to a high level of modern societal mobility and the need for operational navigation, primarily in new urban spaces. The market is quite saturated with software from different manufacturers, and such high competition dictates requirements for functionality and services provided to a user; therefore, manufacturers are forced to expand additional services to increase their competitiveness. Tourists’ basic requirements for mobile applications on a trip were determined by tourist canvassing. Suggestions for improving mobile applications to navigate tourists on trips are provided, and special attention has been paid to creating the most comfortable and optimized excursion methods while taking into account tourist wishes.

The results of finite element analysis of large machined rotor fastened into heavy precise lathe are reported. Many design changes are simulated to improve the dynamic rigidity of the machining. Three radial eigenmodes detrimental to the accuracy were revealed: rotor-stock bending at 17.7 Hz (“half-wave”), rotor-lathe bending at 36.1 Hz (“full-wave”), and “support rocking” at 68.1 Hz. The frequency response functions and dynamic rigidities were evaluated. Three compliance issues were revealed: angular flexibility of the spindle console, low stiffness of the lathe bed (with boots), and an excessively slender tailstock. It is proposed to transform the spindle chuck into a table with additional hydrostatic backing, fill the bed cavities with concrete, and redesign the tailstock as a counter-spindle unit. This will decrease the amplitude of the main rotor resonance by 6.3 times and upshift the frequency near two-fold from 17.7 to 35 Hz. The renovated lathe should be able to machine a rotor without a lunette system or overriding the main resonant frequency.

A holistic approach and stakeholder consultation are necessary before implementing a particular city logistics measure. The need to implement sustainable urban logistics solutions is particularly important in seaports located in cities. Such cities, particularly Gdynia, have a high intensity of cargo flows resulting from transport connected with their port facilities. The purpose of this article was to identify the level of acceptance of sustainable and innovative urban logistics solutions by entities that use the services of the seaport in Gdynia. We investigated whether the proposed solutions found sufficient acceptance among the respondents, and which of the proposed solutions were the most preferred by stakeholders. We hypothesized that urban logistics solutions were not sufficiently accepted by the stakeholders of the seaport of Gdynia. In order to analyze the awareness of the involved parties, we surveyed parties at the Port of Gdynia as part of the Interreg project called TENTacle. Our findings did not support this hypothesis with respect to such measures as FQP, the use of interactive city maps, night deliveries, and the use of ITS, as these are the solutions most preferred by the stakeholders of Gdynia. The results of this study can therefore serve as an important tool for the city of Gdynia, and similar cities, when preparing sustainable urban logistics plans.

Transport is integral to every city, having a crucial impact on its functioning and development. As road infrastructure does not up to keep up to speed with the constantly growing numbers of vehicles on roads, new solutions are required. Fast urban railway systems are a solution that can reduce transport congestion, with environmental protection issues also taken into account. Following these reasons, the decision was made to build the Szczecin Metropolitan Railway (Szczecińska Kolej Metropolitalna, or SKM), consisting of four lines constructed using existing railway infrastructure, within the Szczecin Metropolitan Area (SMA). The construction works on the linear and point assets of the SKM are ongoing and will be concluded in 2022. Therefore, given the large impact of this project on the affected communities, the purpose of the present study was to analyze the expectations of the SMA population concerning the launch of the SKM via a large-scale questionnaire. For the purposes of the study, the following research hypothesis was defined: from the assessment of the affected residents, the introduction of the SKM will considerably improve the travel experience and greatly facilitate transit within the fast railway system’s area of impact. From the analysis of the questionnaire, it could be concluded that the introduction of the SKM will have a positive impact on the improvement of transport within the Szczecin area and shorten travel times significantly.