MS Jan Heweliusz sank on 14 January 1993, between about 04:10 and 05:12 (UTC+1) as the ship was crossing the Baltic Sea, en route from Świnoujście, Poland, to Ystad, Sweden.

[2][7] After the fire, Polish Ocean Lines ordered repairs to the ship, which resulted in 70 tons of concrete being added to the affected deck, causing stability issues.

[8][10] Because of this, Captain Andrzej Ułasiewicz [pl] sought to cancel the ship's departure and take it out of service for repairs.

[14] At around 02:40 on 14 January 1993, weather conditions began to deteriorate as a result of Storm Verena, which was sweeping across the Baltic Sea.

[13][18] Captain Ułasiewicz attempted to mitigate this by steering the ship's bow toward the direction of the wind, but to no avail.

[18][15] At 05:12, the ship capsized about 24 km (15 mi) off the coast of Cape Arkona on the German island of Rügen.

[4] The deceased, most of whom were truck drivers, included Swedish, Austrian, Hungarian, Norwegian, Czech, and Yugoslav nationals.

[5][24] After years of investigation, it was ruled that the shipowner who allowed Jan Heweliusz to operate, Euroafrica, was responsible for the disaster.

The Polish Register of Shipping, the Szczecin Maritime Office [pl], and Captain Andrzej Ułasiewicz were also found to have been partially liable.

[18] Due to its shallow maximum depth of 24 m (79 ft), Jan Heweliusz is a popular wreck diving destination.