Overview
- Witnesses reported the fall at about 16:25–16:30 roughly 15 nautical miles east of Rügen during the Ystad–Świnoujście crossing.
- The captain stopped the ferry and issued a distress call, after which MRCC Bremen coordinated the response across Germany, Poland, Denmark and Sweden.
- DGzRS rescue cruisers Harro Koebke and Berthold Beitz, customs and water police vessels, two helicopters and the nearby ferry MS Polonia searched a precisely defined area.
- The search was suspended around 19:00 without finding the man, with darkness and near 4°C water temperatures cited as major challenges.
- The cause of the overboard incident remains unclear, authorities have opened investigations, and the ferry later continued its voyage.