View source for MS Jan Heweliusz

{{Short description|Norwegian-built Polish ferry}}
{{about|the ship itself|the disaster|sinking of the MS Jan Heweliusz}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Jan Heweliusz 1986.jpg
| Ship caption = MS ''Jan Heweliusz'' in 1986, damaged after a fire
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = [[Poland]]
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Poland|civil}}
| Ship name = MS ''Jan Heweliusz''
| Ship owner = [[Polish Ocean Lines]]
| Ship operator = Euroafrica Shipping Lines
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = Trosvik Verksted A/S
| Ship yard number = 
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = 29 January 1977
| Ship completed = 1977
| Ship christened = 
| Ship renamed = 
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship in service = July 1977
| Ship out of service = 14 January 1993
| Ship homeport = 
| Ship fate = Sank in the [[Baltic Sea]] on 14 January 1993
| Ship identification = {{IMO Number|7527904}}
[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: SQIK
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = <br>of MS ''Jan Heweliusz''
| Ship class = RO/RO ferry
| Ship tonnage = 3,015 [[Gross register tonnage|BRT]]
| Ship length = 125.66 m
| Ship beam = 17.02 m
| Ship power = [[CODAD]] 4 × Sulzer 10AL25/30, 7,400 [[Pferdestärke|PS]] total
| Ship speed = 16.75 knots
| Ship capacity = 2,035 tons (up to 47 trucks)
}}
|}

'''MS ''Jan Heweliusz''''' was a [[Norway|Norwegian]]-built [[Poland|Polish]] [[ferry]] named after astronomer [[Johannes Hevelius]] ({{langx|pl|Jan Heweliusz}}) that served on the route [[Ystad]]–[[Świnoujście]]. It was built in Norway in 1977 and was owned by [[Polish Ocean Lines]] and operated by its [[subsidiary]] company [[Euroafrica Shipping Lines]].

In the early hours of 14 January 1993, it [[capsize]]d and sank in 27 metres (88 feet) of water off [[Cape Arcona]] off the coast of [[Rügen]] in the [[Baltic Sea]] while sailing towards Ystad with 64 passengers and crew.<ref name="rp2008">[[Rzeczpospolita (newspaper)|''Rzeczpospolita'']] article from 2008-12-01 [http://www.rp.pl/artykul/83273.html]</ref> The accident claimed the lives of 20 crewmen and 35 passengers. Ten bodies were never found. Nine people were rescued. The sinking of ''Jan Heweliusz'' is the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster involving a Polish ship.<ref name="rp2008" />

== 1986 fire ==
In September 1986, the ship suffered a serious fire. No one on board was injured, but the ship was heavily damaged. The ship was repaired by coating the damaged areas with 60 tons of concrete, which increased the weight of the ship and dangerously affected its stability: this was apparently an illegal method.<ref name="rp2008"/><ref name="gs24">[http://www.gs24.pl/archiwum/art/5192058,tajemniczy-beton-z-heweliusza,id,t.html Głos Szczeciński]. Tajemniczy beton z "Heweliusza". Accessed: 2016-06-21.</ref>

== 1993 sinking ==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2023}}
{{main|Sinking of the MS Jan Heweliusz|l1=Sinking of the MS ''Jan Heweliusz''}}
At 04:10 on 14 January 1993, the ship started [[Angle of list|listing]] in hurricane-force winds, estimated at {{convert|180|km/h|m/s}} or 112mph. It capsized at 05:12. The waves were up to 6 metres (20 feet) high and ferries in the nearby port of [[Sassnitz]] had been cancelled. Prior to its sinking, ''Jan Heweliusz'' had been involved in 28 incidents, including collisions with fishing boats, listing, engine failure and the aforementioned fire in 1986. It had ballast problems and had also damaged its hull in Ystad during docking, but this was not reported to the port authorities and only makeshift repairs were made. It sailed two hours late, carrying 10 railway carriages from five European countries.

The Marine Chamber of Appeals in [[Gdynia]] blamed the accident on the poor technical condition of the ship, with the captain, who died in the accident, also being blamed for allowing the ship to sail in such an unseaworthy state.

In 2005, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] in [[Strasbourg|Strasburg]] ruled that the official investigation of the sinking was not impartial and granted €4,600 in damages each to eleven relatives of the victims.<ref name="rp2008"/>

The wreck of the ship is located at a depth of 27 metres (89 feet) and is frequently visited by divers.<ref name="rp2008"/>

==In popular culture==
In 2025, [[Netflix]] will be releasing a five-part [[miniseries]] based on the 1993 disaster, titled ''[[Heweliusz]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zatońska |first1=Beata |title=Powstaje serial "Heweliusz" inspirowany zatonięciem promu. W obsadzie plejada gwiazd. Kto wciela się w główne role? |url=https://zyciegwiazd.dziennik.pl/news/artykuly/9433411,powstaje-serial-heweliusz-inspirowany-zatonieciem-promu-w-obsadzie.html |website=Dziennik.pl |access-date=22 April 2024 |language=pl |date=15 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kucharski |first1=Mateusz |title=Netflix nakręci kolejny polski serial. Wielkie gwiazdy w obsadzie! |url=https://www.ppe.pl/news/336228/netflix-nakreci-kolejny-polski-serial-wielkie-gwiazdy-w-obsadzie.html |website=PPE |access-date=22 April 2024 |language=pl |date=15 February 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Poland|Transport}}
*[[List of disasters in Poland by death toll]]
*[[List of roll-on/roll-off vessel accidents]]
*[[ORP Heweliusz|ORP ''Heweliusz'']]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.underwater.pl/galeria_wrak_promu_mf_jan_heweliusz.php Underwater pictures of the ''Jan Heweliusz'' wreck]
* Björkman, Anders (2007). [http://estonia.kajen.com/Naval_Architect_Jan_07.pdf Estonia revisited +Learning from the often forgotten Jan Heweliusz disaster]

{{1986 shipwrecks}}
{{1993 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jan Heweliusz}}
[[Category:Ships built in Norway]]
[[Category:Ferries of Poland]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1986]]
[[Category:1977 ships]]
[[Category:1986 in Poland]]
[[Category:September 1986 in Europe]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites]]