At the christening, the vessel was named Jerzy Różycki, in honor of one of the three Polish mathematicians and cryptologists who, in January 1933, broke the German Enigma cipher. The ship’s godmother was Ewa Zarychta – the wife of retired Vice Admiral Stanisław Zarychta, who, during his career, commanded the reconnaissance ship ORP Hydrograf and later the Reconnaissance Ships Group, which brought together all Polish vessels of this class.
The first reconnaissance ship of Project 107 Delfin prepared for launching / Photos: Przemysław Gurgurewicz, MILMAG
Among the numerous invited guests were, among others: Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence Paweł Bejda, Secretary of State at the Swedish Ministry of Defence Peter Sandwall, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy Jacek Karnowski, Head of the National Security Bureau (BBN) Lieutenant General (ret.) Dariusz Łukawski, General Commander of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Marek Sokołowski, Director of the Department for Command over the Armed Forces at the National Security Bureau Vice Admiral Jarosław Wypijewski, Deputy Head of the Armament Agency Brigadier General Michał Marciniak, Head of Naval Programs at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) Brigadier General Patric Hjorth, President of Saab AB Micael Johansson, Brigadier General Mieczysław Bieniek – Head of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Analysis Directorate P2, Inspector of the Navy Vice Admiral Jarosław Ziemiański, Deputy Inspector of the Navy Rear Admiral Mirosław Jurkowlaniec, and Commander of the 3rd Ship Flotilla Rear Admiral Andrzej Ogrodnik.
Before the ceremony, the floating dock with the ship is positioned alongside the shipyard quay. In order to launch the vessel, the dock must first be moved away from the quay
After the christening ceremony, the ship launch procedure began. As with the launches of the Project 258 Kormoran II mine hunting vessels built at the same shipyard, this launch was carried out using a floating dock. For this reason, the operation is time-consuming – it takes several hours and is performed in stages. Once the dock is moved away from the quay, it begins a slow submersion process. When the hull enters the water, a tightness check is conducted to ensure there are no leaks. After verification, the submersion continues until the vessel is fully afloat. At that point, it is towed out of the dock and moved to the shipyard’s outfitting quay.
After the ship’s godmother spoke the traditional formula: “Sail the seas and oceans of the world, honor the name of the shipbuilders and the Polish sailor; I name you Jerzy Różycki,” a bottle of champagne was broken against the ship’s hull
As part of the program to procure two signals intelligence (SIGINT) vessels, widely known under the codename Delfin, the Armament Agency signed a contract on November 25, 2022, with the Swedish company Saab Kockums AB for the construction of the new ships. The contract covered the design, construction, delivery, and operational support of the vessels. Saab selected Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. as the main contractor, responsible for building the completed ships and conducting all shipyard trials, including both harbor and sea trials. The Swedish side is fully responsible for the delivery and integration of the specialized reconnaissance equipment. The disclosed value of the contract was approximately 620 million EUR, which at the time equated to around 2.9 billion PLN.
The reconnaissance ship Jerzy Różycki, following the christening ceremony, was enveloped in a cloud of white and red confetti
Construction of Jerzy Różycki began with steel cutting on April 17, 2023, followed by the keel-laying ceremony on July 27, 2023. According to the original schedule, the ship was to be completed by December 15, 2026.
The second vessel of Project 107, named Henryk Zygalski, entered production seven months later – steel cutting took place on November 15, 2023, and the keel was laid on January 23, 2024. The completed ship was scheduled to be delivered by June 15, 2027.
A commemorative photo of the ceremony participants, including Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of National Defence Paweł Bejda and Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden Peter Sandwall
The schedule has since shifted, and Jerzy Różycki is now expected to be delivered in the second half of 2027, while Henryk Zygalski is planned for delivery in 2028. The ships have been assigned hull numbers 261 and 264, placing them adjacent to the numbers of the two currently operated Project 863 signals intelligence vessels: ORP Nawigator – 262 and ORP Hydrograf – 263.
After the christening ceremony, the ship launch procedure began. It is a lengthy process – taking several hours and carried out in stages
The Project 107 reconnaissance ships were designed with the involvement of the Gdynia-based design office MMC Ship Design & Marine Consulting. They are based on the earlier design of the Swedish signals intelligence ship HMS Artemis (A202), also developed by the same office, which was commissioned by Saab and largely built in Poland. The Swedish prototype has a full displacement of approximately 2,300 tons, a length of 74.6 meters, a beam of 14 meters, and a draft of 3.8 meters.
Once commissioned, ORP Jerzy Różycki and ORP Henryk Zygalski will replace the aforementioned 50-year-old Project 863 ships: ORP Nawigator and ORP Hydrograf, which entered service on February 17, 1975, and May 8, 1976, respectively. It is worth noting that these vessels were also built at the same shipyard, which at the time operated under the name Northern Shipyard (Stocznia Północna) named after the Heroes of Westerplatte.
Social media:
"Płyń po morzach i oceanach świata, sław imię stoczniowców i polskiego marynarza, nadaję ci imię Jerzy Różycki" – tak wyglądała ceremonia 🎉 🎊 chrztu i wodowania nowego okrętu rozpoznania radioelektronicznego dla @MarWojRP. ⚓🇵🇱 👏
🎥 P. Leoniak/3 FO pic.twitter.com/ah67twLmg7— Marynarka Wojenna RP/ Polish Navy (@MarWojRP) July 1, 2025
„Płyń po morzach i oceanach świata, sław imię stoczniowców i polskiego marynarza. Nadaję ci imię: Jerzy Różycki” – dziś w Gdyni te słowa wypowiedziała Ewa Maria Zarychta, matka chrzestna nowego ORP.
Uroczystość chrztu i wodowania kadłuba pierwszego z serii dwóch nowoczesnych… pic.twitter.com/kgxSRGY2xf
— Sztab Generalny WP (@SztabGenWP) July 1, 2025
We wtorek, 1 lipca br. na terenie stoczni Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. #Gdańsk, z udziałem wiceministra @pawelbejda odbył się uroczysty chrzest i wodowanie ORP Jerzy Różycki – pierwszego z dwóch okrętów rozpoznania radioelektronicznego dla @MarWojRP, budowanych w ramach programu… pic.twitter.com/Q2Dv99L24B
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) July 1, 2025
Zakończyła się uroczystość chrztu i wodowania "ORP Jerzy Różycki" – pierwszej jednostki z serii nowoczesnych okrętów rozpoznania radioelektronicznego.https://t.co/r2tlrdXRtv pic.twitter.com/ZqLJbWoxsa
— Agencja Uzbrojenia (@AgencjaUzbr) July 1, 2025
"Nadaję Ci imię Jerzy Różycki" – w Gdańsku, w stoczni #RemontowaShipbuilding ochrzczony został okręt rozpoznania radioelektronicznego, pozyskiwany przez #AgencjaUzbrojenia w programie #Delfin. pic.twitter.com/v7P9h4Rm2T
— Agencja Uzbrojenia (@AgencjaUzbr) July 1, 2025
Dziś wodowanie pierwszego z dwóch okrętów rozpoznania radioelektronicznego dla #WojskoPolskie. To istotne wzmocnienie zdolności Marynarki Wojennej RP. Umożliwi skuteczniejsze pozyskiwanie danych rozpoznawczych i przeciwdziałanie zagrożeniom na Morzu Bałtyckim. ORP Jerzy Różycki… pic.twitter.com/B7dCBkO82F
— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (@KosiniakKamysz) July 1, 2025
W oczekiwaniu na #Delfina… pic.twitter.com/s0IL405V4g
— Agencja Uzbrojenia (@AgencjaUzbr) July 1, 2025
Today, 1 July 2025, the launch of Poland's first SIGINT (signal intelligence) ship from Saab, ORP Jerzy Różycki, took place in Gdańsk, Poland.
Read more here: https://t.co/8c9EWdTyv4#SIGINT #SuperiorAtSea #NavalTech pic.twitter.com/kt8EWHTKzv
— Saab (@Saab) July 1, 2025