Tributes took place on naval vessels and ferries, as well as at the monument “To Those Who Never Returned from the Sea” in Świnoujście, northwestern Poland.
The sinking of the Jan Heweliusz remains Poland’s deadliest maritime disaster in the post-war era. Thirty-six passengers and 20 crew members lost their lives.
On Wednesday morning, the anniversary ceremony in Świnoujście was attended by the city’s mayor, Joanna Agatowska, relatives of the victims, commanders of the 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla, uniformed services, scouts, students and representatives of the maritime industry.
Flowers were laid and candles lit at the monument and at a nearby plaque commemorating the tragedy of the Jan Heweliusz.
The plaque, which includes a relief of the ferry and a commemorative inscription inspired by Nobel laureate Wisława Szymborska, was funded by the city’s residents. Photo: PAP/Marcin Bielecki
The disaster occurred during a night crossing from Świnoujście to Ystad in Sweden. A powerful storm, with winds reaching 12 on the Beaufort scale, battered the Baltic.
The Jan Heweliusz had set sail with a leaking stern door, damaged days earlier in Ystad and only temporarily repaired. Around 3 a.m., the ferry began to list and take on water, eventually sinking approximately 16 nautical miles east of the Arkona peninsula near the island of Rügen in northern Germany. Fifty-six people died, while nine crew members survived.
Netflix recently adapted the story of the Jan Heweliusz ferry disaster into a film.
Polish Radio has produced a podcast based on archival recordings from the tragedy, while Polish Radio English Service revisits an interview with Adam Zadworny, the author of an award-winning report on the incident.
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