Sinking of the MS Jan Heweliusz

, a roll-on/roll-off ship, was launched in 1977. It was owned by Polish Ocean Lines and operated by . It operated between Świnoujście and Ystad, transporting trucks and rail cars. Over 15 years, the ship had nearly 30 serious accidents, including a near-sinking in 1982 and a major fire in 1986. After the fire, Polish Ocean Lines ordered repairs to the ship, which resulted in 70 tons of concrete being added to the affected deck, causing stability issues. Four days before the disaster, the ship's stern gate was damaged while docking in Ystad. Because of this, Captain sought to cancel the ship's departure and take it out of service for repairs. However, the shipowners ordered the crew to provisionally repair the stern gate and have it gradually repaired at a later time during lay-ups. Temporary repairs to the stern gate caused the ship's departure to be delayed by two hours. ==Sinking==

The ship set sail at 22:30 (UTC+1) on the evening of 13 January 1993, two hours behind schedule. All crew members were Polish. The forecast called for severe weather. At around 02:40 on 14 January 1993, weather conditions began to deteriorate as a result of Storm Verena, which was sweeping across the Baltic Sea. The ship experienced winds measuring 12 on the Beaufort scale; As the ship struggled with stability, the crew reduced its speed, which caused a loss in steering. Additionally, due to strong port side winds, the crew filled the port side ballast tanks, contrary to operational recommendations, in an attempt to increase stability. Captain Ułasiewicz attempted to mitigate this by steering the ship's bow toward the direction of the wind, but to no avail. A sudden gust of wind struck the starboard side of the ship, causing a severe list to port, exacerbated by the port side ballast tanks being full. The fasteners that secured the ship's cargo then broke. ==Rescue effort==

Rescue helicopters were deployed from Parow, near Stralsund, and from Denmark. , which would eventually replace Jan Heweliusz on the Świnoujście-Ystad line, was also deployed in the rescue operations. Due to miscommunication about the ferry's location, the helicopters did not arrive until about an hour and a half after the sinking. The water temperature was , causing the few lifeboat occupants to suffer from hypothermia. Only nine people survived, all crew members, who were flown to German hospitals to be treated for hypothermia. ==Investigation==

Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka established a commission to investigate the disaster; After years of investigation, it was ruled that the shipowner who allowed Jan Heweliusz to operate, Euroafrica, was responsible for the disaster. The Polish Register of Shipping, the , and Captain Andrzej Ułasiewicz were also found to have been partially liable. ==Victims==

A total of 56 lives were lost in the disaster: 20 crew members and 36 passengers. ==Legacy==

's Central Cemetery A memorial to the victims was erected in Szczecin's Central Cemetery in 2013. There is also a memorial in Plac Rybaka in Świnoujście. Some items recovered from the tragedy are on display at the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk. In popular culture The sinking of Jan Heweliusz was the subject of a 2025 Netflix miniseries, titled Heweliusz. The series was announced as "the largest and most complex Polish television series production in recent years," featuring over 120 named characters and 3,000 extras, and requiring a crew of over 140 members. ==See also==