WARSAW, POLAND, 13 JANUARY 22 HOURS BEFORE THE MAYDAY CALL
Dear listeners, I know today is Wednesday,
but perhaps we can bend reality a little,
If we all listen to this song, will Friday come sooner? Let's try it,
Is Monika still sleeping?
Yes, thank goodness,
There's an IKEA in Malmö,
I'll pick up a cot for her,
When do you get back?
Sooner than you'd like,
You should look after your mother and sister
instead of going out with that Macioszek lad,
You want to be a man? Act like one,
All right, give him a break, Here's your tea,
- Thank you, - You're welcome,
Do you want scrambled or fried eggs?
- Scrambled, - Fried,
Fried it is, then,
I dunno, we'll see,
Come on!
- Coming, - Aga!
Your sandwiches!
- What's the date today? - The 13th,
Good job it's not a Friday,
You're taking a Scania, The MAN's being serviced,
That okay?
Sure,
Oh, and this,
Safe journey,
Thanks,
POLISH ARMED FORCES
Morning,
About time!
Farmers' blockade,
Is there much?
We're not the ones carrying it,
Oh, fuck,
- Yeah, it's a fair bit, - A shitload,
It's Wednesday 13 January, 8:30 am,
The north coast along with Warmia and Masuria
will see very strong gusts of wind reaching up to 75 miles per hour,
accompanied by sleet and heavy rain,
- Temperatures will be,,, - Look,
For fuck's sake,
Mrs Kaczkowska, did your husband often sail to Sweden?
Well, sometimes up to four times a month,
So he knew the route well?
Actually, it was the only route he worked on,
And how often did he sail on the Jan Heweliusz ferry?
I'm not sure exactly, but fairly often,
And did anything stand out as unusual?
Did he ever mention any concerns?
Was anything worrying him? Did he notice something, perhaps?
My husband didn't like sailing in winter,
He was afraid of storms,
- When he was on Heweliusz? - Not only then,
But on Heweliusz too?
Yes, then too,
What about Karkonosze?
Excuse me,
Pardon me, but this bears no relevance to the case, I'm sorry,
I'm just trying to establish
that Mr Kaczkowski was afraid of winter sailing on the Baltic in general,
not specifically on Heweliusz, Right, Mrs Kaczkowska?
Let's get back to the point, all right?
I’ll ask again, Did your husband mention anything about Heweliusz?
Any unusual behaviour from the captain or crew?
Please refrain from suggestion,
Silence, please, Mr Budzisz,
So, would you kindly tell us
if your husband ever mentioned Captain Ułasiewicz or the crew?
Sir, I don't understand what you're implying,
Or the point of this whole charade, or why I'm even here,
I've been cheated by everyone,
Nobody has apologised to me for what happened,
I went to collect my husband from Świnoujście
because I was told he'd survived,
And when my son and I got there, it turned out to be a mistake,
A mistake, you understand?
A mistake is something you make when dialling a phone number,
not identifying survivors!
Do you know how I felt
when I realised I'd gone to meet a total stranger?
Madam, we understand your displeasure,
We deeply regret our oversight,
But it might not have happened, with proper order on board and if,,,
Sir,,,
Sir, rest assured I'm not short of anger and rage
for the captain and crew,
but I can see what's going on here,
I may be a simple woman, but I'm not stupid,
I see what you gentlemen are doing,
So important and influential, but only looking out for yourselves,
Meanwhile, I have to pay off my husband's debts!
Mrs Kaczkowska, please calm down,,,
No! Please don't interrupt me, Let me finish,
I don't know who's guilty, Maybe the captain, maybe someone else,
But one thing's sure, The State has failed,
The State you gentlemen are representing!
You failed! All of you! You weren't vigilant enough!
And the widows and the victims' families have to pay for it,
I just wish
we could all be left in peace,
That this would all be over,
Because I know
there'll be no justice here,
Nobody here really wants to know the truth,
I realised that when they tried to tell me what to say,
Who did?
I just want,,,
I want to know what my husband felt
as he died,
Did he think of me? Of our children?
What do you mean, they tried to tell you what to say?
Never mind,
- Sorry, - What was your husband carrying?
- Weapons? Ammunition? - Silence, please!
I will have order!
Order! Quiet, please!
Please be quiet, ladies and gentlemen!
Please be quiet, ladies and gentlemen,
We now call the next witness to the stand,
Sorry, just one question, Did your husband know what he was carrying?
Fuck off!
Take it easy!
You're a toxicology expert, correct?
Yes,
And you examined the stomach contents
of the deceased Heweliusz crew members?
Yes, some of them,
Did you find anything significant?
Trace amounts of alcohol were found in one person's stomach,
So, one could reasonably assume
that the crew may have been drunk?
I can't confirm that with absolute certainty,
But I can't rule it out,
If it can't be confirmed, it can't be used to bring charges,
Counsel, I did not give you the floor,
You mentioned trace amounts of alcohol,
For which crew member?
Officer Skrzypczyński,
- Impossible, My husband hated alcohol, - Order, please,
- But that's a blatant lie! - I will have order,
- Thank you, No further questions, - Thank you,
Excuse me, I have a question,
Go ahead, Counsel,
Was Captain Ułasiewicz's body
tested for traces of alcohol?
Yes, of course,
And?
There was no trace of alcohol in his blood,
No further questions,
- Thank you, You're free to go, - Thank you,
We should now like to call
Major Artur Ferenc,
Quiet, please, everybody,
Please state your name,
My name is Artur Antoni Ferenc, I'm a major,
I led the Heweliusz investigation for the special services,
Let me remind you that you are under oath,
May I ask a question?
- Go ahead, - Thank you,
Mr Ferenc, why were the services involved?
Was it to do with the cargo?
I don't understand the question,
We were exploring potential sabotage or terrorism,
And?
We quickly ruled it out,
But the investigation uncovered other significant facts,
What facts?
These are Captain Andrzej Ułasiewicz's medical records,
Please present the documents to the panel,
Thank you,
Last year, the captain had a serious accident,
His hospital discharge papers
indicate that he may have been unfit to operate vehicles,
My husband saw a neurologist and was certified as fit for work,
Very well, It will go on record, Mrs Ułasiewicz,
But we'll need the certificate,
- Do you have it? - No, Kubara does,
Major, please go on,
Thank you,
The captain wasn't the only one with serious health issues
that could have critically affected navigation
and his ability to assess the situation at sea,
Shortly before the disaster, Officer Waldemar Skrzypczyński
underwent major eye surgery, Here are the papers,
This is vile, You killed my husband and now you tarnish his name!
Order, please!
While making the mayday call,
the officer in question gave the wrong location for the ferry,
which could well have delayed the rescue mission,
- What do you mean? - He saw well, The surgery worked!
I really must have silence!
Mr Ferenc, what do you mean?
You and your colleagues are a bunch of amateurs,
You know as much about the navy as I do about sumo,
Officers don't give a ship's position, Captains do,
Isn't that right, Captain Kubara?
Order, please,
Ladies and gentlemen, order!
How do we know the position was wrong?
I can't find it in any of the documents,
The rescue mission was delayed because their position was unknown,
Tell me, Piotr,,,
Why are you sabotaging things?
I'm not,
I just think this is despicable,
Painting Ułasiewicz as a drunk, incapable of operating a ferry?
Henryk, it's despicable,
Maybe he was at fault, but we can't degrade him like this,
- The verdict must be impartial, - And it will be,
Andrzej was my friend too,
But the truth is he gave the wrong position,
I was on the bridge, I heard him,
How do you know it was wrong if you didn't go?
It was wrong! I heard their messages,
They would have been on land,
You don't believe me?
At least try to appear objective,
Why is no one examining the shipowner's role?
Or the ferry's defects? They were well known,
Piotr, it was your ship too,
You were also responsible for its safety,
Maybe look in the mirror and ask yourself
what you did to prevent this tragedy,
Have you come for advice?
No, Too late for that now,
You were right, I should've kept out of it,
They'll hang Ułasiewicz and the crew out to dry
without batting an eyelid,
And I'll have to sign off on it,
They do as they please,
There's no watchdog,
There's you,
You're watching,
I'm just the fig leaf here,
Son, you're only seeing that now?
We sail on a sea of shit, Always have done,
Sailing used to be an adventure,
Now it's business,
That's not about to change,
Kowalik's a total prick,
But he thrives in this new world,
That's why he'll come out on top,
And you'll lose,
Shall we head inside?
No, not yet,
The sea is beautiful today,
Got anything for me?
Is Mum keeping lookout?
Leaving already?
Yes, I'll come again when the hearings are over,
You know, when you were little, I'd go swimming in the sea
and you'd stand on the shore
screaming for me to come back,
Do you remember?
You were afraid I wouldn't come back,
Sweetheart,,,
You know the sea isn't the be-all and end-all?
Everything passes,
I don't want you to end up like he did,
Mum,,,
I think it will go on a while longer,
I'm going to go out of my mind here,
Auntie won't leave me be, She keeps asking how I'm feeling,
Hang in there a little longer,
Mum, why are they treating Dad so fucking badly?
I don't know,
But try not to dwell on it,
Don't read the papers, okay? And don't believe what you see on TV,
I don't,
- I love you, - Love you too,
Bye,
I don't know if anything can be gained here,
I'm sorry, I'm doing what I can,
So, they'll pin it all on Andrzej?
You know how Aga feels about this?
You have to prove that crossing the wind wasn't a mistake,
- He must have had a reason, - Of course, I agree,
But if we can't work out why,
then the case is lost,
What about the military cargo?
That must've caused serious overloading,
Maybe we can get something concrete from that?
Ferries often sail overweight and still reach port,
Heweliusz went down because of that turn,
In those conditions, you just don't do it,
Do you want us to go with you?
No, thanks, I'll be fine,
- You sure? If you need,,, - I'm sure,
I just need this to be over,
Then I can go back to sea and earn some decent money,
What do you mean?
Thank you, Mr Janicki,
- No further questions, - Thank you,
Are there any other questions for Mr Janicki?
Yes, please,
Go ahead, Counsel,
Mr Janicki,
I'd like to clarify a few points
since you possess the particular relevant expertise,
Were you aware that Heweliusz had stability issues?
Well, yes, I think everyone knew that,
And do you know why she was unstable?
Excuse me, Counsel, That is beyond the witness's competence,
Perhaps it's because after the upper deck fire in 1986,
in order to save money, the deck was covered in concrete,
overloading the ferry by 115 tonnes
at a height of three storeys above the waterline,
Mr Budzisz,
ships undergo repairs and their weight changes,
So does their stability, What's your point?
I'm curious as to why an unstable ferry was allowed to sail during a storm,
As I said, when Heweliusz set sail, the weather wasn't that bad,
Wind strength was force six or seven,
So, the captain didn't do anything wrong by departing?
Force six or seven isn't much for a ferry of that size, is it?
No, it's not,
So, once more,
to the best of his knowledge, the captain did not endanger anyone,
I suppose not,
Suppose?
Why "suppose"?
He got the weather forecast from you at the Harbour Master's Office, right?
Yes,
And you authorised the ferry to leave port, correct?
Yes,
So, would you be so kind as to tell me
why you cleared Heweliusz to depart
if you knew the weather past Rügen was terrible?
- We didn't know that, - That's interesting,
I have here
a German weather alert,
Dated 13th January, 11:00 pm,
It warns of a hurricane-force storm approaching from the North Sea,
Yes?
I'm here to testify, Witold Skirmuntt,
Take a pew, They're still grilling Janicki,
We weren't aware of that alert,
It was sent to all Baltic ports,
But you ignored it, Why?
Maybe because no one in the Harbour Master's Office,
I stress, in the Świnoujście harbour office,
speaks German,
It should've been in English!
You missed a hurricane-force storm,
with winds exceeding 110 miles per hour!
It can't have been that strong,
Sir, it clearly states "98 knots,"
That's about 110 miles an hour, Or do none of you know basic maths either?
Storms like that don't exist,
Surprise!
Thank you, No further questions,
Thank you, Counsel,
Excuse me, Mr Chairman,,,
Nevertheless, Mr Budzisz, other ferries, including mine,
did somehow make it to port,
You, Captain Kubara, didn't warn Ułasiewicz either,
Even though, if I'm not mistaken, your wind speed sensors
went off the scale,
- You were sailing from Rügen, right? - Please do not impute anything to me,
Conditions were poor but not terrible,
It's likely Captain Ułasiewicz made an unnecessary turn
aiming to shelter behind Rügen,
That's why he turned leeward, if you even understand what I mean,
I do, But why seek shelter if conditions weren't terrible?
You're trying to pick holes in everything, sir!
The only holes are in your theory that the captain is to blame,
Heweliusz was an unstable wreck
with faulty bow thrusters and a defective ballast system,
It's a wonder she didn't sink sooner,
Costs were cut at the expense of safety and this is the result,
Sir, Heweliusz underwent all her repairs in reputable shipyards,
That's enough theatrics,
- Mr Janicki, you're free to go, - One more question,
- Order! Order, please, - I have another question!
We will adjourn for ten minutes
before calling the next witness,
Thank you,
What a clusterfuck!
Who the fuck introduced Mrs Ułasiewicz to that Budzisz guy?
How should I know?
Janusz, calm down,
Fuck! I'm as calm as a truckload of Tibetan monks,
Who did it?
I did,
There, Now we know,
Fucking hallelujah,
I was told to take care of Mrs Ułasiewicz,
Gentlemen, calm down,
Now we'll talk to that officer,,,
- Skirmuntt, - Right, It's going to be fine,
- Janusz, it's going to be fine, - I hope so,
We'll have words about this later,
Please remember you're testifying under oath,
Mr Skirmuntt, you were on the bridge just before the disaster,
Yes, For some time,
In your own words, can you tell us what was happening at that time?
What do you think?
We were battling the elements,
Same as you on the Karkonosze,
Can you tell us what you were doing on the bridge?
I was on watch,
Where was the captain?
Sleeping,
Silence, ladies and gentlemen,
Quiet, please!
Are you saying
that the captain wasn't on the bridge during the storm?
Obviously, he came as soon as the problems started,
Was it your decision to fill the port side ballast tanks?
No, Officer Skrzypczyński made that decision on the first watch,
because the wind was causing the ship to list to starboard,
We decided to counter the list by loading the port side,
This corrected the list temporarily,
Why only temporarily?
Once we crossed the wind, the forces
compounded and she capsized,
Why cross the wind?
I don't know,
I'd left the bridge by then,
- Where were you? - Pardon?
Where were you?
In the engine room,
The captain had told me to check the ballast valves,
Mr Skirmuntt,,,
Do you enjoy a drink?
This is absurd!
Quiet, please!
- Silence, please! - This is ridiculous!
Order!
I am informed that in hospital
you had a bottle of alcohol,
Yes, The embassy worker gave it to me,
And? Did you drink it together?
Excuse me,
Can we drop this ludicrous idea that the crew were drunk?
It's not up to you to decide which lines of inquiry are pursued here,
Then I object to these insinuations,
Sit down, please,
Mr Skirmuntt, could you tell us how you became an officer?
I was promoted,
You didn't attend maritime college?
I was promoted from sailor to officer working at sea with Captain Ułasiewicz,
Very well, So, your promotion is discretionary?
I don't understand what you're getting at, My experience is practical,
Sir, what I'm getting at is this,
Were you the right person to be on the bridge
during a storm of this magnitude?
The captain was on the bridge,
You know that, You found his body there!
Maybe he only showed up after the ferry had already rolled,
Excuse me, Captain Kubara,
Don't you find it odd that an experienced captain
would make the basic error of turning an unevenly ballasted ferry?
I don't know, Maybe it wasn't a mistake,
Or maybe it wasn't the captain who made it?
That would resolve Captain Binter's doubts
about Ułasiewicz being too experienced
to make such a mistake,
Maybe it was you who made the turn and capsized the ship?
Is this an inquiry or a witch hunt?
Mr Celej, sit down!
Order, please!
Mr Chairman, I'd like to hear the officer's account free of suggestion,
Captain, we're not taking requests,
We're here to explain the causes of the disaster,
The facts are what they are,
Mr Skirmuntt, tell us what happened,
I did not capsize the ferry!
The captain ordered the turn,
- He had to, - Why did he have to?
I don't know, I wasn't on the bridge then,
Mr Skirmuntt, if you weren't on the bridge at that point,
how can you know that the captain made the turn?
Officer!
Please, wait,
- Officer,,, - Captain, I didn't sink the ship!
It wasn't me!
I didn't do it,
Just tell me what happened out there,
Why did you say that Ułasiewicz had to make the turn?
Witold?
You'll find the answer on the Ostsee Radio tapes,
BIRTH CERTIFICATE
INSURANCE POLICY WITOLD SKIRMUNTT
Come here, puss,
Here you go,
Wish me luck,
POLISH-GERMAN BORDER
Ostsee Radio, this is Kempen!
We're at the disaster site!
Repeat, you're breaking up!
Ostsee Radio, this is Kempen!
Excuse me, These are the tapes from 4:00 am, right?
Yes, From 4:00 to 5:15 am,
Kempen, what ship is that?
I'll have to check,
Thank you,
Ostsee Radio, this is Kempen!
We're at the disaster site!
Port side, the Polish ship Heweliusz, We're launching a rescue!
Give me your coordinates,
Ostsee Radio, this is Kempen!
We're at the disaster site!
Port side, the Polish ship Heweliusz, We're launching a rescue!
Give me your coordinates!
We're about 16 miles east of Kolliker,
Sixteen miles east of Kolliker,
Kempen, Kempen!
This is Kempen! The conditions are too rough,
We're too small, We're leaving,
Kempen, Kempen!
Do I understand correctly that you're leaving?
- Yes, - Roger that,
We have no information on Kempen,
But you communicated with them, didn't you?
Yes, but we don't have anything,
May I have a copy of these tapes?
Take the originals,
We won't be making any copies,
Get them back to me after?
Thank you,
Budzisz speaking,
This is Binter,
Mr Budzisz, listen to me carefully,
Heweliusz was on a collision course with a German ship,
The captain had to turn,
What? I don't understand, A collision course? How?
There were no other ships there,
No one's reported this, How do you know?
It can be deduced from the Ostsee Radio tapes,
- Tapes? - Yes,
From the day of the disaster,
I have them here, I'll submit them to the panel tomorrow,
This changes everything, don't you see?
The German ship had the right of way,
Just after the disaster, that ship's captain clearly says
that Heweliusz is on their left,
You can go,
I have to go,
See you tomorrow,
Forgetting something?
Thank you,
Fuck,
- Was that Binter? - Yes,
What did he say?
We have a breakthrough,
Today marks the final day of testimony and closing arguments,
The inquiry panel will then review the evidence
and issue a ruling within a month,
All of Poland awaits the verdict,
especially coastal communities,
and the victims' families and colleagues,
We will keep you updated on the course of the hearings,
Five minutes,
Time to go,
Where's Binter?
Ladies and gentlemen,
this morning we received some terribly sad news,
Last night, a fatal car crash occurred,
claiming the life of one of our lay judges,
Captain Piotr Binter,
I therefore adjourn the inquiry until tomorrow,
Jola, you should stay until the end,
I've had enough, I want to go back to my daughter,
But the closing argument is tomorrow,
Closing what, though?
- Can I at least give you a lift? - No, thanks,
There's something I need to do, and you have to prepare,
Goodbye,
Hi, love, I'm in Świnoujście,
A minor malfunction's put us a bit behind schedule,
Maybe we won't leave port at all,
The weather's been awful these last few days,
ŚWINOUJŚCIE 10 HOURS BEFORE THE MAYDAY CALL
Must be because I left Baba Yaga in the car,
Yesterday, a squall hit us so hard
we rammed into the wharf with the stern,
The lads are trying to fix the damage now,
I hate sailing on the Heweliusz in these conditions,
They've done fuck all about fixing the propulsion,
Anyway, tell Aga I've got the Daim bars, like she asked,
But she needs to work harder in English,
And I'm sorry about what happened,,,
I was exhausted and oversensitive,
- Maybe we can go skiing when I get back? - Andrzej!
Andrzej, come on!
Yeah, I'm coming! Hold on!
Record the Trójka Radio chart for me, will you?
There's a blank tape by the basket,
I have to go now,
I love you both, Give everyone a kiss from me, Hania and Janusz too,
See you in five days, Sending you lots of kisses!
Andrzej's our man, I guarantee it, I vouch for him, okay?
He won't complain?
Course not!
I know Andrzej well, It'll be fine,
Hi, Andrzej!
Hi,
Meet Mr Ferenc,
Captain Ułasiewicz,
Listen, we've received a request from the very top,
Can we delay leaving port?
- Delay it even longer? - Just slightly,
The conditions aren't great, It looks pretty bloody awful later,
We're awaiting an important diplomatic shipment,
Andrzej, you could make it in any weather!
- Andrzej, - What?
This is really important, understand?
Can you manage?
Possibly, but can Heweliusz?
Thanks,
Come on,
I told you everything would be okay,
Andrzej's our man,
Come on,
What a formal reception,
We rarely host management on the ferry,
- Hello, madam, - Give me your hand,
- The purser will take you to your cabins, - Hello,
And this young sailor can visit the bridge later, if he likes,
Oh, thank you!
He's a bit scared, It's his first trip abroad,
Of course,
- We can ask Ola to take care of him, - Yes,
Really? Will you go with Ola?
- Okay, - This way, please,
How's it going? Are you done?
Yeah, she's ready!
Go and tell the old man the stern door's been fixed,
- But,,, - Go on, move it,
- Hi, everyone, - Hi, Waldek,
Hi, Waldek, How are the eyes?
- Like in primary school, - Great,
I'd forgotten the world could be so ugly,
- But looking at you lot,,, - Hi, Waldek,
Hi,
Hi, Zajdel,
Captain, the stern door has been fixed,
Then start loading,
But no need to hurry,
- We're waiting on one more load, - Yes, sir,
Which load's that?
Something for the embassy,
Not much sleep, eh?
She's teething currently so there's a fair bit of crying,
Move that white lorry over to two,
- Or else we'll list too much to the right, - Okay, Mr Celej,
Chief! Over here!
Stop!
- What the fuck's going on here? - Nothing, Mind your own business,
- This is my business, - Oh, yeah? Here you go,
Fuck,,,
Move it!
Park it amidships at the stern!
- Sorry, where? - The stern!
All right, Copy that,
Brace yourselves, ladies, We're in for a rough crossing,
I know, more's the pity, What time do we sail?
Thank you,
Soon, I hope,
What time is it?
Captain, may I have a word?
- Excuse me, - Of course,
Well?
- We have a problem, - What problem?
One of the lorries is well over its declared weight,
- By how much? - Thirty tonnes,
- Then chuck it off, - That's the thing, We can't,
Oh, that one,
What's our draught?
We're already at our limit, with three more lorries waiting,
So, don't let them on,
- Loading's finished? - Indeed,
Loading's over!
I repeat, loading is over!
Loading's over!
What? Are you taking the piss?
Captain's orders!
I have to sail! I have delivery deadlines,
So take the next one, That's life,
Fuck the next one!
- What did he say? - We're not going anywhere!
Okay, we're departing,
We're three hours behind schedule,
Force majeure, What can you do?
We'll run all four engines, make up some time,
It's not likely,
Captain, on the radio the Germans said something
about a hurricane-force storm near Arkona,
Hurricane-force?
Harbour master, Harbour master, this is Heweliusz,
Yes, Andrzej, Go on,
Heard anything about a hurricane? The Germans mentioned it on the radio,
We've not heard anything, It's windy but not terrible,
This isn't the Caribbean,
No one else stayed behind?
All systems go, You're clear to depart,
Thank you,
Bridge Two, Fire up all four engines and two bow thrusters,
- ,,,my wife, - Right,
- Now she's saying they live in Strzelin, - Uh-huh,
Hold on,,, Good,
And she's a fucking amazing cook,
Raise the ramp, Cast off,
Ramp raised,
Port side clear,
Bow clear,
Departing,
Ready to close,
Close the door,
The fucking thirteenth!
Door closed and secured,
Take the helm, Course zero-five-five,
Helm taken, Zero-five-five,
Confirm zero-five-five,
ŚWINOUJŚCIE PORT ENTRANCE HEADS 4,5 HOURS BEFORE THE MAYDAY CALL
Here's your soup,
- Thanks, - Enjoy,
- Soup? - Thanks,
Pork or chicken?
Captain speaking, Manoeuvres complete, Switching to navigational,
Maintain the four engines and the generators,
Waldek, you're on until 2:00 am, Then Witek will relieve you,
Maintain 3-5-5, If she drifts off, correct to 3-5-0,
Yes, sir,
If anything happens, give me a shout,
- Good night! - Good night,
Accidents like the sinking of the Jan Heweliusz
never have just one cause,
And no single individual is ever solely responsible,
Every tragedy is the result of many factors,
A lot of unfortunate coincidences must occur
for disaster to strike,
14 JANUARY THREE HOURS BEFORE THE MAYDAY CALL
Why is she listing so hard?
'Cause it's fucking windy,
Chief!
If they don't level her out, we can't do it right!
Bridge, this is Celej,
Bridge, Go ahead, Marek,
You have to level her out, We can't do anything down here with this list,
Okay, understood,
We'll turn to starboard, I'll switch the anti-heeling tanks,
Call me when you've secured everything,
- Course to zero-three-zero, - Zero-three-zero,
Confirming zero-three-zero,
Zajdel,
Zajdel, we're filling the port tank, Open the valve,
Understood, over and out!
Evening, gents,
- What's up? - A bit of a roll but nothing major,
Course zero-three-zero, Wind south-west, force eight,
I corrected the list with the anti-heel tanks,
Valves are closed, Marek and the guys are adding more chains,
Strong leeway drift pushed us slightly to the right,
Once Marek's finished, resume course,
Speed 13,5 knots, Call if anything happens,
All right, Is the course clear?
It's clear, No signals,
- Good night, - Night,
Marek, how's it going? Everything secured?
Yeah, all secure, Thanks,
Are the lorries moving much?
Like happy hippos,
It's battering down,
THE BALTIC SEA 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE MAYDAY CALL
We keep drifting,
- We'll correct some more, Course 3-3-5, - Three-three-five!
- Confirm three-three-five, - Great,
Jan Heweliusz!
What was that?
No idea,
Fuck!
What's happening? Why are we slowing?
- We're on a collision course, - What do you mean?
- How? - No idea! Some German trawler,
You didn't see it earlier? What the fuck have you done?
- I slowed down because,,, - Because what? You slowed in a storm?!
It's no use, We're going to ram them anyway,
Taking command, We need to speed up,
- Hard to port, - Hard to port!
What's going on?
Confirm, hard to port!
- Helm to wing, - Helm to wing,
Confirm, helm to wing,
Call the engine room, Have them open the thrusters,
Bridge Two, open the thrusters now!
Thrusters open,
Why are we listing so badly?
All the ballast water is in the port tanks,
Why didn't you report that?! Transfer to starboard!
Zajdel, we're filling starboard! Open it up!
What the hell?
Fuck!
Why are we still listing?
Zajdel, what's with the anti-heeling tanks?
- What's going on? - No idea,
Then go and check!
The list is increasing,
How many degrees?
Twenty and rising,
Attention, crew and passengers! Captain speaking,
We need to abandon ship,
I repeat, we need to abandon ship,
With waves like that and water spray everywhere,
radars can fail,
They can't detect all objects, especially smaller vessels,
Like the German ship that suddenly appeared dangerously close to the ferry,
Heweliusz's delay put her on a collision course,
The German ship had right of way, hence the turn to let her pass,
The disaster was caused by external factors,
The ship's design flaws,
lack of information about the weather conditions in the Baltic Sea,
and bad luck,
But not the captain's incompetence,
The captain's behaviour was exemplary,
He gave way,
Please, tell me,,,
Do you have any evidence to support this hypothesis?
Unfortunately, I do not,
It burned along with Piotr Binter's car,
Do any of you gentlemen have further questions?
Thank you, Counsel,
After reviewing all evidence and documentation,
as well as the testimonies of witnesses and interested parties,
the adjudicating panel
of the inquiry held in Stargard Szczeciński
finds as follows,
The deceased captain of Jan Heweliusz, Andrzej Ułasiewicz,
is responsible for causing the disaster,
Please sit down,
The captain failed in his duties,
He demonstrated a lack of responsibility
by making risky decisions in storm conditions,
His crew similarly failed to uphold health and safety protocols,
That's a lie!
Quiet, please,
Jan Heweliusz was not without her defects,
for which the shipowner is also responsible,
The weather that night was indeed rough,
but it was the crew's negligence
and the captain's inexplicable decision to make an abrupt turn
that were the decisive factors in this tragedy,
Fuck,
Bridge! Bridge, come in!
Bridge, standing by,
Man overboard on the port side!
- Man overboard! - Copy that,
Throw the lifebuoy!
The verdict's in?
Why don't we go away together?
How about that skiing trip?
I want to study navigation,
You still have time to think it over,
Hello,
THE HEWELIUSZ FERRY DISASTER RESULTED IN A CHANGE IN PROCEDURE,
CAPTAINS NOW TAKE THE FINAL DECISION ABOUT DEPARTURE,
IN 2005, THE SAILORS' WIDOWS WON A CASE AGAINST POLAND,
THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS RULED THAT THE VARIOUS INQUIRIES
HAD FAILED TO REVIEW THE SINKING OF THE HEWELIUSZ IMPARTIALLY,
THE CAPTAIN'S WIDOW, JOLANTA UŁASIEWICZ, REFUSED TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT TRIAL,
THE HEWELIUSZ DISASTER REMAINS UNRESOLVED AND CONTROVERSIAL,
IN 2025, A 56TH VICTIM WAS ADDED TO THE OFFICIAL OBITUARY:
THE 17-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER OF AN AUSTRIAN TRUCK DRIVER,
THE VICTIMS OF THE JAN HEWELIUSZ FERRY DISASTER
Subtitle translation by: Łukasz Stanisław Dutka, Emma Garner