Heweliusz’s ending was about the commission that was organized to investigate the capsizing of the titular roll-on/roll-off ship, arriving at the conclusion that its captain, Ulasiewicz, his crew, and the shipowners were responsible for the mishap. On January 14, 1993, the MS Jan Heweliusz embarked on a journey from Poland to Sweden through the Baltic Sea. Despite several weather warnings, flaws in the structure, and exceeding the acceptable weight limit of the cargo bay, the ship was made to sail. It not only ran into a hurricane but also was on a collision course with a German vessel, Kempen. Ulasiewicz, Skirmuntt, Waldek, and the rest of the crew tried their best to tackle the situation. However, the odds stacked against the Heweliusz were so high that it was impossible for all of them to come out in one piece. Several crew members and passengers died, and those who survived became the subject of intense scrutiny via a panel that was set up to conduct a very public internal investigation. The panel’s main aim was to pin the blame of the “accident” on Ulasiewicz and his crew, whilst giving the shipowners (who were responsible for the shoddy state of the ship) and the army (who were the reason behind the ship carrying too much weight) a free pass. Why? And what does this alleged cover-up say about the justice system and humanity in general? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Who Was Responsible For The Capsizing?
In his closing statement, Budzisz, the lawyer representing Captain Ulasiewicz, did a pretty good job of laying down all the reasons that led to the capsizing of the Heweliusz. For starters, there was the concrete flooring that was done by the shipowners, Navica Ferries, after the Heweliusz caught fire, thereby reducing the vessel’s stability. Then there was a delay, which was firstly caused by Ania and her co-passengers and then by Kaczkowski, who was stuck in a traffic jam while bringing some suspicious cargo from the Polish Armed Forces. If these delays wouldn’t have happened, the Heweliusz could have maintained its course and not crossed paths with the Kempen. It still would have had complications because of the hurricane, thereby leading to a different set of issues caused by the weight of the ship, which was over the permissible limit because of that suspicious cargo forced upon the crew by the Polish Armed Forces. Then there were the dubious weather reports that were conveyed to Ulasiewicz, which was why the Heweliusz was the only ship that was out there while everyone was back at the docks or had never departed in the first place.
Even if the weather would have been fine, due to the lack of proper maintenance of the ship itself, it would have veered off course because its navigational system wasn’t working properly, and that would have led to some other problems. On top of all that, since it was such an unprecedented situation, Skirmuntt made a fatal mistake by bringing the ship to a halt in the middle of a storm. So, was the panel of judges correct for pinning all the blame on Ulasiewicz and his crew while gently rapping the knuckles of Navica Ferries—because ultimately Navica was a state-owned company and chastising it meant that the government was owning up to its mistakes? In my opinion, no. If I am being honest, based on what I saw in the miniseries, there was only one real reason for the capsizing of the ship, and that was the Polish Armed Forces’ cargo. From the looks of it, the crew would have managed to tackle every obstacle that was thrown in the general direction. But the delay caused by the army and the heavy items that they forced the crew to carry across the Baltic Sea ruined everything. Just to be clear, this is my inference based on the events of the show. What happened in real life is still a mystery.
Why Did The Cover-up Happen?
The cover-up happened because of 2 big reasons: the army was smuggling something illegal and capitalism. Let’s address the smuggled goods issue first. Okay, as far as I know, there’s no real-life evidence of the fact that the Polish Armed Forces compelled the crew of the Heweliusz to delay the ship so that it could load its cargo, which exceeded the permissible weight limit of the vessel. But based on the miniseries, that’s what happened. What was in that cargo, though? The show didn’t explicitly state it, but going by the horribly butchered bodies of some of the crew members, those boxes in Kaczkowski’s truck probably had explosives in them, which went off when the ship capsized. There might have been some weapons in there as well. Why was that being sent to Sweden? I don’t have any idea of Poland secretly funding some kind of unrest in Sweden. So, maybe the Polish Armed Forces were sending that cargo somewhere else via Sweden. Whatever the case may be, the fact of the matter was that if the contents of that cargo had come to light, then it would have exposed the government’s and the army’s true faces. And that’s why Special Agent Ferenc moved mountains to make sure that the conversation about the army’s cargo was swept under the rug and the crew was blamed for their incompetence. That brings us to the capitalism angle. You see, if Navica Ferries owned up to the mistake they had made by improperly maintaining the Heweliusz and if the government, which owned Navica Ferries, accepted that it was unfair to delay the vessel and overload it, then there wouldn’t have been a need to hide behind a curtain of lies.
However, the fear that accountability would have caused a dent in their booming business prevented them from doing so. In order to maximize their profits, the government and Navica had cut corners when it came to the maintenance of the ship, which anyway showed that they didn’t care about the crew or the passengers. To them, those people weren’t even human beings; they were merely a statistic that could be forcefully brushed under the rug. The panel of judges knew that they could get away with it, at least for the time being, and that’s why they did it. This inhumane attitude also affected the crew’s sense of self-preservation. They thought that the condition they were being forced to work in was the only option they had and the alternative was unemployment. Hence, they hardly protested even though every atom in their body told them that something was off about that trip, and the result was death. Skirmuntt survived, and he couldn’t live with the guilt of not being able to absolve his captain and crew, and he died by suicide. Did that matter? Not really. Sure, almost a decade later, a law was put in place where the ship’s captain would have the final say about departure, and also, the European Court of Human Rights stated that the Heweliusz trial was an impartial one. However, that didn’t bring back the dead, it didn’t restore the crew’s reputation, and cover-ups of such mishaps still happen.
What Can We Learn From This Incident?
Capitalism breeds inhumanity. Hence, it’s difficult to talk about any man-made tragedy, even if you have been personally affected by it, because the people who are guilty would rather kill you for speaking your truth than hold themselves accountable. You might watch Heweliusz, see that it happened in 1993, and think that these kinds of mishaps don’t happen now because we have become more technically proficient. You might assume that there are institutions, organizations, and panels that keep track of the checks and balances, which is why even if something catastrophic happens, officials are punished regardless of the position they hold. You might think that since we are always evolving as a species, we are always learning from our mistakes and ensuring that we don’t repeat them. Yeah, no, none of that is really happening in real life. There’s an illusion of progress, but those who are bearing the cost of said progress aren’t being displayed as a statistic anymore. Catastrophes are occurring, and the controversy around them is being snuffed out at such an alarming pace that they are not even making their way to the headlines. As you read this sentence, there are some massive cover-ups happening so that governments and the capitalists that fill their coffers to get access to multi-million-dollar projects can become richer beyond our wildest imaginations.
What’s the solution? I don’t know, man. We have strayed so far away from light that stuff like unions and protests doesn’t even seem like viable options to restore something as basic as dignity of labor and work safety. Those in power have become so brazen about their corruption, and the common public has become so desperate to make ends meet, that telling them to organize and go on strikes feels painful. Privileged people who can use their time and money to fight for the voiceless are too busy vacationing. So, yeah, maybe we have to wait until this rot reaches them because real change happens when the wealthy are affected. When they realize that despite supporting unethical capitalists and immoral governments, they are dying, maybe they’ll vote for the “lesser evil,” and that’ll have a ripple effect that’ll make our lives better. Until then, it’s every person for themselves. I know that that’s really grim, but that’s what we have become. We have reduced the value of our lives to such an extent that self-respect is seen as a sign of stupidity and helplessness has become the norm. If you can, make sure your ship (metaphorical or literal in nature) is fit to sail. If you can’t, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Anyway, those are the thoughts that the ending of Heweliusz inspired. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
