This week striking workers brought the port of Szczecin to a halt.

ECONOMIST: Poland's government

First, while Gdansk continued as a generalist yard, Szczecin decided to specialise.

ECONOMIST: Shipbuilding

As a result, while Gdansk went under, Szczecin has become the fifth-biggest yard in the world, and has been profitable for the past six years.

ECONOMIST: Shipbuilding

Szczecin had a simple choice in 1989: restructure or go bust.

ECONOMIST: Shipbuilding

Although the water is now subsiding, political tension is still high and people in Szczecin, the biggest town on the Oder, are still worried that they may yet be inundated.

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By contrast, Szczecin was the poorest, worst-connected and worst-equipped of the Polish yards in Communist times, churning out vessels for the Soviet Union, while Gdansk concentrated on more glamorous passenger ships.

ECONOMIST: Shipbuilding

Szczecin now has orders stretching into the next century.

ECONOMIST: Shipbuilding

Szczecin made two crucial early moves.

ECONOMIST: Shipbuilding