Custom officials

June 22, 2003
This morning the weather conditions have improved and the ship will make its way from Gdynia to the harbour of Wladyslawowo. After 48 hours negotiating with the Polish harbour authorities the ship is finally able to enter the harbour. The ship is welcomed by Polish women’s organisations and members of Women on Waves standing on the dock. During entry into the port a group of about 200 protesters led by MP Strak from the League of Polish Families Party (LPR) are present on the jetty, shouting threats and throwing cans of red paint and eggs at the vessel. Two crewmembers are hit by paint, and seek refuge on the ship’s bridge. The Border Patrol ensures that demonstrators from the LPR do not push our supporters in the water. One 'anti' demonstrator tries to cut the ropes of the ship while it is berthing. The border patrol stops him. A prominent local politician splatters two of the Polish Pro-Choice supporters with red oil paint. After these incidents the harbour master suggests that the ship be moved into a secured area of the harbour.

The harbour master and border patrol board the ship while both supporters and protesters wait on the quay. The border patrol and security have successfully formed a buffer zone to prevent protesters jumping on board the ship.

The harbourmaster informs the captain that she has broken some regulations by entering the harbour without his permission. Normally such an infringement would constitute, at worst, the equivalent of a minor maritime traffic offence, the local harbour master tells us. The captain explains to him that confusion must have been caused by some miscommunication based on the fact that she does not speak Polish nor does the harbourmaster speak English. Weronika, a crewmember from Poland there to help with the translating, had left the bridge for a moment and there were problems with the vessel’s engine, just as the vessel was waiting to enter the harbour. Realising that the engine was not functioning properly and that the ship was having difficulties in manoeuvring, the captain decided to focus exclusively on bringing the vessel safely into harbour. Captain Margreet decided that providing secure harbour entry for the vessel and its crew was her highest priority.

The Langenort is moved to a secure berth in the harbour and the ship is cleared by customs officials. The Polish customs break the seals that were applied by Dutch officials on the cabin that contain the abortion medication. As the ship goes through customs, the local prosecutor comes on board and attempts to seal the entire treatment room. Our lawyer is refused access to the ship and, accompanied by considerable debate, the captain and another crewmember are asked to hand over their passports to the customs officials. These are returned after a couple of hours. It helps a lot that Willem is constantly calling with the Dutch Embassy. Fortunately, after some negotiation, our lawyer is allowed onboard. Upon leaving the ship the local prosecutor announces publicly that Women on Waves has not committed any crime. Tomorrow a team of pharmaceutical experts will investigate the ship. Can the authorities confiscate the abortion pill? If customs decide to re-seal the medications, is it legal to open the seal again once we are in international waters? Even our lawyers have no idea what to expect.

Press team, Sladjana: "Before the ship's arrival, the Women on Waves crew and the Polish volunteers are already present at the dock. So are our opponents. My knees are shaking. MP Strak and his gang are shouting, "Dutch murderers!" and "Gestapo!" Another man shouts in response to them, "Idiots!" He isn’t even one of our team but I think he just is so fed up with the skinheads that he can’t just keep still another minute. So he continues shouting at them, this elderly Polish man, ‘Idiots! Idiots! Idiots!’ I'll never forget this old guy at the docks.