Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Jan Holoubek, Netflix’s ‘Heweliusz‘ is a creative reimagining of the 1993 sinking of Heweliusz, and the investigations that followed. When Piotr Binter, an off-duty captain, notices that the bulk of the official enquiry into the tragedy has been swallowed up by red tape and secrecy, he decides to take matters into his own hands. However, along the way, he and the bereaved families meet stiff resistance, with a shadowy force using everything at its disposal to ensure that the truth remains buried in the sea. Nonetheless, Binter pushes through, collecting every piece of the puzzle to answer the bigger questions, as well as bring closure and dignity to those who did not come back alive. While most real-life records of this maritime disaster claim that, out of the 64 people on board, 35 passengers and 20 crew members lost their lives, the final moments of the series reveal that a 56th victim has been added to the list as of 2025, bringing the total number of people on board to 65.
Silvia Eichert is the 56th Officially Recognized Victim of the Heweliusz Tragedy
In 2025, the name of the 56th victim, Silvia Eichert, was added to the official list of deceased in the Heweliusz ferry disaster. Silvia, who was 17 years old at the time of her death, was traveling along with her father, Karl Eichert, an Austrian truck driver. While Karl’s name was mentioned in the original list of casualties, Silvia’s name was missing, which raised several questions. Prior to this, the official count maintained for decades that 55 lives were lost in the disaster, including 35 passengers and 20 members of the crew. Furthermore, it was reported that not a single passenger survived, which implies that Silvia was never registered in the passenger list in the first place. Numerous investigations have brought up the discrepancies between various reports and documentations surrounding the Heweliusz incident. Thus, the amendment to the official obituary serves as a reminder that the true extent of the tragedy has still not been confirmed.
During the official state funeral ceremony for the victims in the Heweliusz disaster, organized in January 1993, a total of 54 names of the victims were read out, including the ferry’s Captain, Andrzej Ułasiewicz, 19 other crew members, and 34 passengers. At that time, several voices were raised regarding the presence of more victims who had not been accounted for. Some reports further claimed that unregistered or stowaway passengers were among those who died in the incident, and though a formal investigation was conducted, it was ultimately short-lived. While discontinuing the investigation, prosecutor Ryszard Paszkiewicz wrote that there were no indications of any unofficial passengers on board, and that the retrieval of the bodies of registered passengers and crew only supported that claim. However, in the years following the incident, more bodies were discovered, and the total count of the deceased rose to 55 by the end of 2024.
Silvia Eichert’s Body Was Discovered in Denmark Nearly a Year After the Disaster
Notably, Paszkiewicz’s investigations contained reports from the Austrian embassy in Warsaw about a father and daughter who were on board the Heweliusz together. They were later identified to be Karl Eichert, born in 1957 in Poysdorf, and his daughter, Silvia Eichert, born in 1976 in Mistelbach. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, their bodies weren’t immediately discovered in or around the ship wreckage. In March 1993, the Austrian embassy again requested information from the prosecutor’s office regarding the two of them, and some clarity emerged from the official committee of the Maritime Chamber. According to the reports, Karl Eichert’s body was located off the coast of Hel city in August 1993, and Silvia’s body was retrieved off the coast of Denmark in December.
While there is no clear consensus as to why Silvia was not recorded as an official victim for decades after her body was discovered, some have speculated that the ticketing system employed during Heweliusz’s final voyage might have been the reason. It is possible that the passenger tickets only listed the names of the drivers, omitting anyone accompanying them. In such a scenario, Sivia would never have been registered as an official passenger in the first place. However, given the lack of clarity and information regarding the subject, the idea remains mainly speculative in nature. The tragedy surrounding Silvia Eichert’s death became the subject of a wider discussion with the efforts of journalists such as Adam Zadworny. In 2025, a full 32 years after her demise, Silvia Eichert’s name appeared in the updated official obituary for the Heweliusz victims.
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