Is Witek Dead? Why Does He Kill Himself?

Netflix’s ‘Heweliusz’ examines the real-life tragedy of the sinking of the eponymous ship, trying to look at the events from a different light. Over the course of five episodes, the show presents different sides of the story in an effort to piece together what may or may not have happened the night of the ship’s sinking. In all of it, Witold “Witek” Skirmuntt, who is one of the few survivors of the ship, appears as a major piece of the puzzle. By the end of the show, we discover the true extent of Witek’s involvement in the ship’s sinking, but what’s more shocking is the fate he chooses for himself. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Witek was Haunted by His Responsibility in the Sinking of Heweliusz

While Witold “Witek” Skirmuntt is one of the handful of survivors of the Heweliusz sinking, he doesn’t come out of it intact either. From the moment of his rescue, he is haunted by the dreams of water taking over the ship. At first, it is believed that this may be PTSD, considering the extraordinary circumstances that he survived, when most others on the ship didn’t. However, it is at the end that we discover that his haunting was more than that. It turns out that that night, a lot of things went wrong, including the ship’s own inability to set sail, given the many structural problems it had. And Witek’s series of wrong choices at a critical moment exacerbated an already difficult situation.

A flashback at the end of the final episode reveals that the ship’s crew was given a green light to set sail and continue forth even after the warning of a hurricane. As expected, the weather worsened, and the winds reached such a force that they rendered some readings on the equipment faulty. This included the radar, which started malfunctioning at a critical point in the journey. Due to this, it did not warn the crew of Heweliusz about another ship, called Kempen, which was on the same course. The warning came from Kempen after it discovered that it was on a collision course with Heweliusz, but by then, it was already too late. At the time, the ship’s reins were in Witek’s hands. Although he didn’t graduate from any maritime academy and lacked academic credentials, he made up for it with extensive experience, earning promotions based on his work.

At the moment, however, when he saw another ship right in front of him, the only thing he could think to do was slow the course of his own ship. However, this was a colossal error considering the strength of the winds around them, which meant that the ship would lose control to the natural elements. The sudden stopping of the ship brought Captain Ulasiewicz and his second-in-command to the bridge. Realising the problem, the captain tried to get the ship back on track. He increased the speed to match the winds, and to stop the collision, he tried to turn the ship about, given that Kempen was a German vessel and had the right of passage. However, several other things malfunctioned at the same time, which didn’t allow the ship the support it needed to make the turn about successfully and safely, and that led it to tip in one direction and eventually sink.

Witek’s Guilt Leads Him to Take a Drastic Step

At the time of the ship’s sinking, Witek had only one thing on his mind. He didn’t have time to think about the many things that went wrong at once, and so, he believed that his inability to identify Kempen and take the right decisions led to the ship’s sinking and the captain’s death. The fact that he survives when many others die also weighs on his conscience as he believes that he is responsible for all of their deaths. This leads him to be unable to go back to his normal life, and he struggles to connect with his wife and daughter. And then, the trial happens, and the captain and the rest of the crew are put on trial. It becomes clear that the captain is being used as a scapegoat and will take the blame for everything. Witek is put in a position where he can either tell the truth and take responsibility for the ship’s sinking. Or, he can stay silent and let the deceased captain take the fall.

He doesn’t want either of those things, so he doesn’t tell the whole story, but he does try not to let the captain take the fall. This leads his testimony to appear fickle, and at one point, he is asked if he was the one who decided to turn the ship about. This makes him angry, and he shouts that he did not capsize the ship. His mild efforts to state the truth, or at least parts of it, and keep the captain’s good name from being ruined go in vain. Eventually, all the blame for the loss of life and property aboard Heweliusz is placed on the dead captain. Meanwhile, Witek is given a clean chit, and he is free to resume his career as a sailor.

The last we see of him is aboard another ship, but it’s clear that the guilt is still eating at him. So, he jumps off the ship. When another sailor notices it, he immediately calls for help. It is not revealed whether Witek is rescued or not, but it’s clear that his will to live is gone. He would have killed himself earlier, but the only reason he didn’t is that his insurance policy wouldn’t have been nullified by suicide, and his family would have received nothing. The reason he chose to jump from the ship is that it could be ruled an accident, and that way, his wife and daughter wouldn’t be left with nothing after his death. Given the circumstances, there is a good chance that he dies, drowning in the remorse of his actions.

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