At 4:10 am on Jan 14 1993, the ship started listing in hurricane-force winds, estimated at 180 km/h. It capsized at 5:12am. The waves were up to 6 metres 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 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 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.
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