MS Jan Heweliusz
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The M/S Jan Heweliusz, owned by PLO (Polish Oceanliners) and operated by its daughter company PLO EuroAfrica, was a Polish ferry named after the famous Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius (Polish: Jan Heweliusz). Built in Norway in 1977, the ferry served on the route Ystad-Świnoujście. In the early hours of 14th January 1993 it capsized and sank in 30 metres of water off Cape Arcona on the coast of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. The accident claimed the lives of 20 of the 29 crew and all 35 passengers. 10 bodies were never found.
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[edit] Parameters
- Length 126 m
- Width 17 m
- Speed 17 knots
- Cargo 2500 tons (up to 47 trucks)
[edit] The accident
At 4:10 am on Jan 14 1993, the ship started listing in hurricane force winds estimated at 180 km/h. It capsized at 5:12. The waves were up to 6 meters high and ferries in the nearby port of Sassnitz had been cancelled. Prior to its sinking the Heweliusz had been involved in 28 incidents including collisions with fishing boats, listing, engine failure, and a 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 5 European countries.
The Marine Chamber of Appeals in Gdynia blamed the accident on the poor technical shape of the ship and the captain who died in the accident was blamed for allowing the ship to sail in an unseaworthy state.
