32 years ago, in the wee hours of 14 January 1993, 64 members aboard the ill-fated Polish car ferry, MS Jan Heweliusz, suffered one of the deadliest tragedies in maritime history. The ship was hit by a severe storm, causing it to capsize and sink rapidly before the crew could launch lifeboats. 55 members, including two children, met an untimely end. Only 9 members survived. 10 of the bodies were never found.
One of the most controversial and devastating disasters in Polish history, the event is the subject of an upcoming Netflix miniseries, Heweliusz. It comes from Anna Kępińska, Jan Holoubek, and Kasper Bajon, the makers of another real disaster-based series, High Water.
Slated for premiere on November 5, 2025, Heweliusz is also expected to address an earlier incident involving the ship, which, in retrospect, is seen as a harbinger of the impending doom, seven years later. In 1986, the ship was heavily damaged when it caught fire, following which Polish Ocean Lines, the owner company, 'fixed' the affected areas by coating them with a reported 70 tons of concrete.
However, the "solution" was said to have affected the ship’s stability on a serious scale. Moreover, it had a long history of encountering unfortunate scenarios at multiple points over a 15-year span. Including the fire, the ferry had been plagued by around 30 accidents, which earned it the epithet "the floating coffin."
The show is one of the biggest productions from Poland. Behind-the-scenes stills of Heweliusz, directed by Jan Holoubek and written by Kacper Bajon, promise an ambitious endeavour. To ensure complete justice to the material, the filmmakers and cast members have reportedly endured some remarkably taxing circumstances reminiscent of other legendary sea-based epics such as James Cameron's Titanic, The Abyss, or Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. Reports mention 700 tons of water being used to shoot the storm sequences on a mammoth set built specifically for the shoot.
While the makers opted to construct a cinematic narrative around mostly fictional characters, the material is grounded in thorough research involving witness testimonials and court documents pertaining to the incident. It is also expected to address the incident's impact on the victims’ family members and their unrelenting fight for justice. To that end, the show features around 120 cast members in roles both big and small.