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The ferry “Jan Heweliusz” was a ro-ro vessel designed to carry trucks and railway wagons. It was never a symbol of modern Polish maritime success but rather an unlucky ship – unstable, poorly designed, and plagued by technical problems from the start.
Built in 1977 in Norway, it entered service with Polish Baltic Shipping (Polferries) and operated on the route Świnoujście – Ystad.
It had a sister ship – the ferry “Kopernik”, which, despite identical construction, operated without major incidents until 2008. Sold to Turkey, it continued to serve there for six more years under the name MF Harput.
“Heweliusz” was not as fortunate. After a fire in 1986, it was rebuilt in a way that worsened its stability. Added concrete and steel shifted its center of gravity, making it prone to listing and unsafe under nearly any conditions.
A disaster that should never have happened
On the night of January 13–14, 1993, “Jan Heweliusz” departed Świnoujście for Ystad despite an extreme storm – winds reached force 12 on the Beaufort scale, and waves rose up to 10 meters.
Just days earlier, the ferry had been damaged while docking in Ystad – the stern gate was broken and hastily repaired in violation of regulations.
Around 4:30 a.m., the ship began to list. Within minutes, it capsized and sank near the German island of Rügen.
Fifty-six people died; only a handful survived.
It was the worst peacetime maritime disaster in the history of Polish shipping.
Controversies and theories
The official report blamed construction flaws and the captain’s decisions.
But from the very beginning, other explanations circulated.
Witnesses spoke of unmarked trucks, sealed cargo, and documents that were never made public.
It was suspected that the ferry might have been carrying illegal military cargo or decommissioned weapons – part of the arms trade that flourished across Central Europe after the collapse of the USSR.
At the same time, Viktor Bout – the Russian arms dealer later portrayed in the film “Lord of War” – was active in the region. Bout had contacts in Poland, and his associate was Riccardo Fanchini.
There is no direct evidence that “Heweliusz” carried such cargo during the voyage, but this possibility has never been fully ruled out.
As sailors said – one hypothesis does not exclude the other: the ferry could have been both structurally unstable and carrying a cargo no one wanted to list in official records.
A rescue operation marked by chaos
As later revealed, the rescue operation itself raised serious doubts.
The SOS signal was received with delay, and Polish rescue teams were stopped by the German side, which took over coordination of the operation.
In practice, this meant that Polish ships and helicopters, ready to respond, had to wait for permission while people were struggling to survive in the freezing water.
Most victims died of hypothermia – not from the waves, but from the delay in rescue efforts.
After the disaster – silence and pretence
Investigations dragged on for years.
Parts of the documentation disappeared, while others were classified.
Families of the victims received only symbolic compensation after the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that Poland had violated their right to a fair trial.
But no one was ever truly held accountable.
As people in Świnoujście said:
“Heweliusz sank twice – once in the Baltic Sea, and once in the paperwork.”
Stawa Młyny, Świnoujście – scene from the series „Heweliusz”
The ferry as a metaphor for the state
The new series “Heweliusz”, which premiered on Netflix on November 5, 2025, tells the story of the disaster but goes far beyond it.
It is a story about a country which – although now more colorful, with new facades and shining highways – still operates like that ferry: with a patched-up hull, provisional repairs, and a crew pretending that everything is under control.
Poland is the shipowner here – a state that sends its vessels to sea despite warnings,
and its citizens are the passengers – calm, trusting, believing that someone knows where they are headed.
Meanwhile, the wheelhouse trembles, and the waves keep rising.
On Netflix, you can watch the series “Heweliusz” – one of the most compelling and well-crafted Polish productions of recent years.
It is not only a reconstruction of the 1993 tragedy but also a penetrating metaphor for contemporary Poland:
a nation that keeps sailing forward without learning from its mistakes.
Legacy and remembrance
The wreck of “Jan Heweliusz” rests at a depth of 27 meters off the coast of Rügen.
Divers visit it every year, and in Świnoujście stands a monument to the victims.
It is not just a memorial site but also a moral warning – about the consequences of systemic negligence, complacency, and faith in appearances.
Because if a state operates like the ferry “Heweliusz” and its citizens never ask who truly holds the helm – then no paint, no flag, and no emblem will keep it from sinking.