DARŁOWO NAVAL RESCUE BASE, POLAND 10 MINUTES AFTER THE MAYDAY CALL
ATC Darłowo, Second Lieutenant Mączka speaking,
Copy that,
Fuck,
Lieutenant!
- Yes? - Heweliusz is sinking,
The survey ship?
Ferry, With 60 passengers on board,
Fuck, Where are they?
We don't know yet,
- Put everyone on full alert, - Yes, sir,
- Get me the navigator, - Yes, sir,
And get those coordinates, ASAP,
- We're about to fucking capsize! - I know,
Waldek, what the fuck is our position?
This is a pile of crap, not a ship,
The radar's fucked!
The list is too heavy, I can't see the land!
Ready! Remove the nozzle!
Gentlemen, clear out, Get back to the hangar!
001, 002, 003, Report readiness for departure,
001, ready for departure,
002, ready for departure,
003, ready for departure,
Roger that, Stand by for clearance,
Go and check if Mentzel has evacuated,
And don't come back,
- But, Captain,,, - I said don't come back,
Save yourself, That's an order!
We're going to die!
- Where are the life rafts? - Here!
We're going to die here!
Where are the lifeboats?
Where's help?
Oh, it's you,
Do something, man! I can't die here!
I can't die here, I'm a military courier!
- Go up on deck, - I'm a military courier!
I can't die here!
That way! Follow him, onto the deck!
Madam?
The captain has ordered us to evacuate, He asked me to help you,
Here's an immersion suit,
You need to put this on,
I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying here,
Madam, this ship can't be saved,
That’s why I’m staying,
There'll be a rescue operation,
We're in with a chance!
There won't be any rescue,
You've seen what it's like out there, They won't get here,
Please, let me stay here,
I just want a moment's peace, okay?
I'm not moving!
- But the captain clearly said,,, - He doesn't need to know!
Go, now,
Go!
We need to take off, Every second counts,
With no fucking coordinates?
We're 16 miles from Kolliker!
Waldek, throttles to zero,
What are you staring at? Krzysiek! Leszek! Save yourselves!
See you soon,
Fucking hell!
Captain!
What are you doing here, Witek?
Captain, I've got a suit!
Put it on and let's go,
Get the fuck out!
Captain, you can still save yourself, Please!
Save the others!
Staying here won't change anything, Andrzej! Nothing!
I'm begging you!
Give it to someone else,
Save yourself, Witek!
I'm sorry,
I'm so sorry,,,
ATC Darłowo, Lieutenant Słowik speaking,
Roger that, Yes, sir,
Fucking hell,
- What is it? - Shut off the engines,
- What? - Shut off the fucking engines,
Switch the engines off,
The Germans are taking over the rescue, We're moving to standby,
We can't fly there,
Fucking hell,
- Can you see it? - Yeah,
Okay, I'll just press record, It's on,
There you are,
Yeah, Hold on,,,
There!
- Let me see, - Have a look,
There it is, Damn, Did you see that?
Now we're zooming in, Look,,,
Zooming in,,,
Right?
But what's this? You've disappeared!
Where did you go?
Come here, Wait, we need to,,,
There!
You disappeared,
Damn these,,,
There, Now give me a kiss!
- Dad! - No arguing, Come on,
Good, Now we're zooming out,,,
Mum!
Jola! Sweetheart, you're in our film now,
Look, I can do a close-up, And make it go faster,
And now more kisses, to keep for later,
What's it called when you move into a shot?
- Zoom? - "Zoom" is for a camera,
It's "close-up",
The last time, when Dad was leaving,,,
I didn't give him extra kisses for later, because,,,
because I was glued to some film on TV,
NO COMPENSATION? DRUNK CREW ALLEGEDLY TO BLAME FOR HEWELIUSZ DISASTER
What is this nonsense?
Don't worry about it,
The shop was out of butter,
They have to pay you something,
No, they don't,
And the summons that came in the post? What's that about?
It's for the inquiry,
I have a train to catch,
Kisses, Bye!
WARSAW 12 FEBRUARY
May he keep the eternal watch in peace,
After what they wrote about him, I doubt it,
I know, Jola, I saw that vile article,
I'll do everything in my power
to make them print a correction,
"De mortuis aut bene, aut nihil,"
He acted like a true man,
Like a captain,
You can be proud of your dad,
He was brave and reliable, He never left the bridge,
I'd rather he were a coward and alive,
You can apply for compensation now we've recovered the body,
I just wish we hadn't learnt that from the news,
I know, I'm sorry,
Those reporters are vultures,
Again, my sincerest condolences,
Did you call that lawyer?
He'll take it,
Captain!
Captain,
Is it true you're going to be a lay judge at the inquiry?
Yes,
I've been summoned,
I'm to appear as an interested party,
Yes, that's possible,
"Interested party"? Sounds like "defendant" to me,
They've summoned everyone who survived, Why?
I think it's just a formality, Must be the regulations,
Have you read the papers?
- It's just mindless drivel, - It's fucking nonsense!
The captain knew what he was doing when he stayed on the bridge,
They're going to bury us under a wave of shit,
There was a disaster, We have to determine the cause,
Determine the cause?
Do you hear yourself? You know damn well what happened,
The ballast system failed and,,,
Goodbye,
The ballast system failed,
Two engines were almost dead,
The fucking superstructure made her turn into the wind,
She was tossed about like a feather,
There's your cause,
AKA Navica Ferries, as you're well aware,
That's what you say at the inquiry, You have to,
You have to defend the captain's honour, the crew's, your own!
It's your reputation too,
This is your reputation too,
You have to do it,
Hey! Look at Kaczy,
Off to make a trade?
He'd be better off nicking car radios,
Fuck him,
What a guy! Totally broke!
PAWNBROKER'S
Wait outside,
This engraving,,,
lowers the value significantly,
Very well,
I'll take it anyway,
And what do we have here?
A kettle, a juicer, a video cassette recorder,,,
For the lot, I can give you
fifteen million,
What?! Only fifteen?
You know, the stereo alone is worth,,,
All right,
Fine, my loss,
Twenty,
Here,
Thank you,
Do you have a warranty?
I don't think so,
My husband brought it from Sweden,
Well, this one's done for,
Useless Swedish crap,
You want to get yourself a Junkers, German,
Pretty sure it'll last longer,
No, madam, Put that money away,
I know what happened,
I've read about the compensation in the papers,
And a boiler like that
will cost a pretty penny,
How much?
A Junkers? About 60 million,
Good health to you, Bye,
Thank you,
Goodbye,
What absolute nonsense!
Those hacks have wild imaginations,
We can't heat our home,
The boiler broke, It's as cold as ice indoors,
How will we pay if the crew get the blame?
How much do you need?
Sixty million,
Mariola, please come here a moment,
Mariola, call HR and tell them Mrs Skirmuntt is on her way,
Have them pay out 60 million, okay?
Thank you,
Good morning,
Damn, I don't know,,,
I don't see anything, Perhaps Nowak can fill in for you?
Okay,
Good morning, Mrs Ułasiewicz,
- Halinka, we'll finish later, - Okay,
Please, have a seat,
- Would you like some coffee? - No, thank you,
I'm sorry to bother you, I wanted to have a quick chat about Aga,
Of course,
I'm going to Pomerania for the inquiry,
Aga will be staying with my cousin,
If anything happens at school, please call me on this number,
I'm glad to hear she's coming back,
I don't understand,
Agnieszka hasn't been to school for two weeks now,
I thought you knew,
Hey!
Hi,
What are you doing?
Sorting through photos, How was school?
Okay, Gabrysia copied me her Guns N' Roses tape,
I know you haven't been for two weeks,
What? That's not true,
I saw the headmistress today,
I don't want to talk about it,
Tell me what's going on,
You know what's going on,
Dad died and I didn't even say goodbye,
And at school,,,
At school, I'm like some kind of leper,
Daughter of the fucking drunk who drowned everyone!
- What are you saying? - That's what they call me, Mum,
And Kaczy?
Son of that lorry driver?
He's really got it in for me,
I don't want to go in,
Let me change school, I'm begging you,
All right,
While I'm away, you'll be staying with Hania and Janusz,
You can study at home,
But afterwards, it's back to school,
Your father didn't kill anyone, It's up to us to defend his reputation,
When Markiewicz comes, he's to wait here,
I'm going upstairs, I'll fetch him later, Okay?
So, Officer, what do you say?
You know it's confidential, madam,
Oh, come on, I just want to talk to her, There's no harm in that,
Not a word to anyone that you got it from me,
My lips are sealed,
Thank you,
What do you want?
- I came to talk about your son, - My son?
What's this about?
Something that concerns us both,
We don't share any concerns,
Your son has been threatening my daughter,
- He's aggressive towards her, - Then he must have a reason,
Reason? What reason?
- Don't act the fool, okay? - I'm not,
- Why are you tormenting us? - We're tormenting you?
My husband didn't kill your husband, last I checked,
My husband didn't kill anyone,
It was an accident, The sea is unpredictable,
- People say they were drunk, - Lies,
It's in the papers,
Andrzej is innocent and I know it,
You have your tragedy and I have mine,
Leave my daughter alone,
Wait!
My husband didn't get a special funeral,
No rifle salute, no military band,
And I had to pay for it all myself!
You don't have to go to pawnshops and beg for money
so you can put food on the table,
What am I meant to tell my son?
That the people who killed his father are heroes?
That they deserve salutes?
Maybe even a medal?
Just fucking leave my daughter alone,
That's all I ask,
Hania, don't you have anything better to do?
SZCZECIN, POLAND
Mrs Ułasiewicz?
Ignacy Budzisz,
- Hello, - Hello,
Allow me to take your suitcase,
- And this bag? - No, thank you,
Then let's go,
It's down here,
This way,
Thank you for letting me stay with you,
It will be a nice change for me too,
I'm a widower, Been living on my own for three years,
Besides, in your situation, it's probably best you save money,
This won't be over after one or two hearings,
- Here, This will be your room, - Thank you,
Will you try some?
It's walnut liqueur,
Please, have a seat,
It's from the walnut tree in the garden,
Do you like it?
It's very good, but it's strong too,
A little liquid courage,
You'll need to be strong,
Please, help yourself,
This inquiry's going to be,,,
a witch hunt,
You'll hear terrible things said about your husband,
The panel's been chosen to incriminate him,
Supposedly, it's made up of captains
keen to defend their colleague's honour,
but really, they're just covering their backs,
Each of them is involved in this case somehow,
Whether they sailed on the Heweliusz, failed to save her,
or certified her seaworthy,
So,,,
I wouldn't count on a big payout,
Your husband commanded the vessel, after all,
And the captain, second only to God,
is always partly responsible for any disaster,
Although in this case, I do think God is far more blameworthy,
I don't care about money,
I simply want to defend my husband's good name,
Exactly,
That's what we fight for,
YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND
We're outside Stargard Szczeciński town hall,
As you can see, a large crowd is gathering,
People are anxiously awaiting any news,
- People want to know the truth, - No comment while the inquiry's ongoing,
Kindly respect that,
Mrs Ułasiewicz, is it true your husband was drunk?
All I can say is that
repeating false allegations about Captain Ułasiewicz's sobriety
constitutes defamation,
And defamation can be prosecuted,
- One last question! - Madam!
Good morning, A warm welcome to you, gentlemen,
- Good morning, Professor, - Hello,
I'm so glad you agreed to preside over this inquiry,
You're already acquainted,,,
Piotrek, may I present
Professor Pyzel, preeminent authority on international maritime law,
and author of numerous papers on post-accident procedures,
Henryk, enough flattery! Be honest,
We trained in athletics together at university,
And we did our fair share of drinking together too,
Ah, and the most important person here, our stenographer, Barbara,
- Professor Pyzel, - Nice to meet you,
- Barbara Bożych, - Hello,
Right, gentlemen,
That was enjoyable, but duty calls,
Ten minutes,
My gown,,,
Good morning,
Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to this maritime inquiry session here in Stargard Szczeciński,
where we will investigate the causes of the Jan Heweliusz ferry disaster,
I'd like to ask our lay judge, Captain Kubara, to take the floor,
Thank you, Mr Chairman,
Ladies and gentlemen, before questioning starts,
with the Chairman's permission,
I'd like to ask the president of Navica Ferries,
and owner of Jan Heweliusz, Mr Wiesław Kosiorek, to come forward,
He has requested permission to read a statement,
Mr Kosiorek, the floor is yours,
It was a day like any other in our company,
Nothing to indicate it would be the most tragic in all our history,
If I could turn back time,,,
I would never, I repeat, never
have allowed the Heweliusz to set sail,
But we must remember we have a mission,
We are a ferry operator,
We connect countries, facilitate transportation,
deliver building materials to construction sites,
people to work and gifts to children,
We shoulder responsibility for keeping the world on course,
Those who died on the Heweliusz were not my employees,,,
but my friends,
I'm sorry,
Which is why any insinuation that the operator is to blame,
or that we neglected standards on the ferry,
constitutes a heartless attack on their memory,
and on the company to which they devoted the best years of their lives,
and that was like a family to them,
Above all, I want the truth to be established,
And the truth must be objective,
not convenient,
I am at your disposal, and will offer whatever help I can,
I will not shirk responsibility,
Thank you very much,
Thank you for your statement, Mr Kosiorek,
Now the panel calls the first interested party,
Mr Marek Celej,
Sorry, but I don’t understand what capacity I’m here in,
As an interested party,
So I'm being accused? Of what?
Mr Celej, we're the ones asking the questions here,
But I don't even know what the charges are!
Mr Celej, please calm down,
This is outrageous,
I should press charges!
In place of the 300 million I lost on that barge,
I got nine from you!
Officer Celej, this is not a street market!
We're talking about a human tragedy,
The deaths of our loved ones,
Have you calmed down?
Good, In that case, please state your full name for the record,
The Jan Heweliusz's battle with the storm
which hit on the night of 13th January
ended tragically in the early hours of the morning,
The storm, a force 12 on the Beaufort scale,
capsized the vessel in just a few minutes,
The crew didn’t even have time to launch the lifeboats,
The wind speed has been estimated at up to 95 miles per hour,
Not to mention that the ferry itself was in terrible condition,
Good morning,
What do you want?
Can we talk for a moment?
Aluś, turn it down, okay?
Thanks,
Thank you,
You're welcome,
Well?
I think we could really help each other,
How?
If you testify that your husband complained about the crew's drinking,
That the captain picked fights,
caused scenes,
and ran around naked,
or half-naked, let's say, around the ferry,
That he ran around naked?
We need something concrete,
But my husband never said anything like that,
Maybe he did, maybe he didn't,
But someone drowned him,
It's simple,
You help us
and we'll return the favour,
You mean
I'm supposed to lie?
No one is without fault here, You know that,
I don't understand,
Do you even know what your husband really did for a living?
He was a driver,
What did he carry?
I can't tell you,
But it wasn’t nappies or chicken feed,
Plus, the lorry that sank wasn't his, was it?
Right, time for me to go,
So, do we have a deal?
Will you help us?
Yes,
Thanks for the coffee,
One theory suggests that water began to enter the ferry
through the leaking stern door,
causing the tragedy,
Do you agree with such a statement?
I think anyone who sails on these ships
knows that during a storm, more water pours in from above
than through a gap like that,
Besides, the deck drains fast, as each of you gentlemen well know,
So no, that's certainly not why we lost stability,
Order, please,
Order! Please remain quiet,
But surely you'd agree
that Captain Ułasiewicz's collision in Ystad the day before
could have contributed to the accident?
Mr Chairman,
please remind the lay judge not to lead the interested party,
Counsel, I didn't give you the floor,
Do not tell me how to proceed,
Besides, you're not representing Mr Celej, are you?
Mr Celej didn't have time to seek representation,
He only learned he was an interested party a few days ago,
I'm here to defend Captain Ułasiewicz's good name,
Fine, but now sit back down,
Very well, so as I understand it,
your departure was delayed that day because you were repairing the stern door,
- Why this obsession with the damn door? - Language, Mr Celej,
That's not true,
We left late for other reasons,
The captain said we had to wait in port,
Why?
For a shipment that was two hours late,
Then we realised that if we allowed more lorries to embark,
we'd be overloaded, as we were already at capacity,
So the captain gave the order to stop loading,
Go ahead,
Was there anything unusual about that?
Ferries are often slightly overloaded,
but this time, loading was being supervised by some soldiers,
- What were soldiers doing there? - Order!
I demand order!
By soldiers, do you mean customs officers?
No, regular soldiers, but in civilian clothes,
During evacuation, one crashed into me
and said he was a military courier,
He'd overseen the loading,
- Pardon me,,, - Military courier?!
Mr Chairman, this doesn't seem relevant to the inquiry,
- I'm sorry, - Isn't it? These are new facts,
Indeed,
- Ladies and gentlemen,,, - I have a question,
Everyone's tired,
- One question, May I? - It's late, Captain Binter,
The court will adjourn for today, Thank you, everyone,
Thank you, Mr Celej, you're free to go,
Isn't there anything we can do about it?
Like what? No one saw that coming,
Basia, hand me the transcript,
Mr Chairman, why did you interrupt the hearing?
Because the interested party's ramblings didn't contribute anything to the case,
Really?
The military information could be key, Why were they there anyway?
Look here, This is redundant from paragraph 23 onwards,
It's irrelevant,
- Of course, - It can be crossed out,
It's an official document!
That's unacceptable!
This is an investigation,
Piotr, we simply think that Celej's last comments
don't contribute anything to the case,
Loading was overseen by the military
and you want to cover it up?
What's going on?
Don't push it, Piotr,
Don't push it,
- Zosia, - Good evening, Captain,
I'd like to see the cargo manifest from the day of the disaster,
- Right away, - Thank you,
- Here you go, - Thanks very much,
- Coffee? - No, thanks, I won't be long,
STEEL, CHARCOAL, FURNITURE
- WEIGHT OF LOADED WAGONS - TOTAL DECLARED WEIGHT
Oh, fuck,
Thank you, Zosia,
- Goodbye, Captain, - Goodbye,
Oh, Piotr!
- Don't you have a life? - Hi! Sorry, I'm in a hurry,
- That's for Borchólski, - Okay,
What did he want?
The cargo manifest for the Heweliusz,
Good evening,
- Where's the president? - He's at the TV studios,
TV? What for?
It has to do with the inquiry, I imagine,
What can you share with us on a personal note, sir?
Not as company president, but as a fellow human being,
This is my personal tragedy,
Frankly, I don't think I'll ever recover
from what happened on 14th January,
I knew those people, I know their families,
We were close,
I'm sorry,
This must be very hard for you,
I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say,
Of course, that's understandable,
- Who are you here for? - What?
Who are you seeing?
Thank you very much, Goodbye,
- Thank you again, - Thank you too,
- I hope it all sounded fine, - It was great, don't worry,
Excuse me, I have to go now,
Thank you, Goodbye,
Hello, Piotr,
What are you doing here?
What was Heweliusz transporting?
What do you mean? Lots of things,
You know what I mean, What was it?
Is that why she left port late?
They left late because of the stern door!
- Really? - Really,
Why was the actual load heavier than declared?
- You know that happens sometimes, - Not by thirty tonnes!
Why were the soldiers there?
I know nothing about that,
Enough bollocks, Wiesiek,
You know they were there,
Weapons,
Heweliusz transported weapons, That's why Kowalik visited the site,
Shut the fuck up, Piotr!
Have you lost your mind?
These walls have ears!
I don't know what they were transporting, I don't know! I'm just the president,
Navica Ferries is owned by the state,
Subtitle translation by: Łukasz Stanisław Dutka, Emma Garner