When a tragedy like the sinking of MS Jan Heweliusz happens, the family of the victims undeniably suffers the most. The survivors are often called fortunate and blessed, but they too experience survivor’s guilt. How can someone go through such a tragedy, witness such horrifying things unfold right before their eyes, and then be expected to live peacefully? But no matter which part of the world the tragedy happens in, the government always tries to save its reputation even if it comes at the cost of tarnishing the image of a man who fought selflessly till the very end and sacrificed his life in trying to save others. Heweliusz, the Polish limited series streaming on Netflix, is based on the real-life events that unfolded on 14th January 1993. MS Jan Heweliusz couldn’t withstand the storm it was hit with that day due to myriad reasons and ultimately capsized and sank in the Baltic Sea. What hurts the most in such cases, perhaps even more than the tragedy itself, is the fact that the victims and their families are denied justice. The moment the state becomes involved, the entire process becomes so botched that it turns into a mockery of justice. And the truth, more often than not, is right in front of the people’s eyes, but the power wielders, those in control of the narrative, make sure that it never comes out in the open. So let’s find out to what extent the events shown in the series were true to the facts and if any creative liberties have been taken by the makers.
Was Captain Ułasiewicz At Fault?
According to the reports, Captain Ułasiewicz was found partially liable for the accident together with the owner of the ship, Polish Oceanic Lines. But even if anybody hasn’t watched the series, they would know that in such cases, the captain is not in a position to say anything or even dare to raise a concern against the orders of his employers. Also, in this case, the ownership was held by a company that was state-owned and, as stated in the series, the pride of Poland, that gave employment to thousands of people. Probably we will never come to know what happened in those meetings that were held at the company’s headquarters, but we are aware of how such cases are dealt with and how very shrewdly the blame is shifted onto somebody else. The company needed a scapegoat, and the captain of the ship seemed like the best candidate. I cannot imagine that Captain Ułasiewicz would have given the orders to sail of his own accord. He was not an inexperienced man, and so he knew the risks of sailing into that storm, and that too on a ship that was in such poor condition. But I believe that the company, at that stage, would have been more worried about protecting their profits and making sure the cargo, whatever it contained, reached the destination on time. The series showed us that the captain fought till the very end, and in fact, he didn’t even try escaping from his cabin and getting on a lifeboat. That was an act of martyrdom for me, and it was a disgrace that the state-owned company, the ministers, and the bureaucrats tried to tarnish his image and destroy his legacy.
Was the army transporting weapons on the ferry?
In the fourth episode of Heweliusz, it was shown that one of the reasons why the ship sank was that it was overloaded. Piotr Binter, the second in command to Captain Ułasiewicz, found out that the declared weight of the goods did not match with the actual weight. Now, there is no evidence present in the public domain that could prove this finding to be true, but it could have very well been the case. The company went to such an extent to pin the blame on the captain and try to conceal the truth that it seemed as if the military could have been involved. The people in charge of the investigation tried their level best to distance the military from the accident and stated that Heweliusz only carried 28 trucks that were loaded with vegetables, electrical appliances, etc. Some speculated that the Polish military was transporting weapons, which was why they sent divers after the crash to procure them from the seabed and not leave any evidence behind. There was a scene in the series where Piotr asks his superiors why divers were sent after so many hours had passed, but he never got an answer. We also saw that when the rescue boat (named Kempen in the series) arrived at the scene, the captain and the crew saw mangled bodies of passengers from Heweliusz floating in the water. I don’t know what the makers were trying to suggest there exactly, but the captain decided to abort the mission and not go ahead after that. If I had to speculate, I would say that because of the weapons, there might have been a massive explosion that killed the passengers and dismembered their bodies. Some suggested that maybe the passengers got hit by the propeller, but the experts didn’t find any evidence to support that theory. When such accidents happen, generally there are these kinds of speculations that are never substantiated by evidence but become conspiracy theories with time.
Was the Maritime Chamber’s investigation conducted impartially?
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Three Maritime Chambers had not dealt with the investigation in an impartial manner. But the fact remained that there were a lot of aspects about the case that I believe never came to light. Surely there were really powerful people involved in the case, and they made sure that their name never got associated with the tragic accident. No matter what the tragedy is and in which part of the world it happens, it is always the common man who suffers. The family of the victims suffered, the kids who lost their parents suffered, and a wife whose entire life depended upon her husband suffered, but not those who wanted to make profit by forcing the crew of the Heweliusz to sail in that storm when they knew the poor condition of their ship.
There were illegal repairs made to the ship that increased its weight and made it extremely prone to such catastrophes. It seemed (in the series) that the shipping company was more than willing to accept that the stern gate of the ship was damaged and that the crew was inebriated, which meant that they were trying to hide something so big that it could actually cause an upheaval (probably political). It is hard for me to accept that only the shipping company was at fault and the government, the politicians, and the military didn’t have any role to play in the scheme of things. As stated earlier, the whole truth about what transpired on that fateful night will never be known to us, but that does not absolve the wrongdoers from their sins.
