The funeral of Danuta Kobylińska-Walas. They said goodbye to the first female captain of the great seafaring fleet.

The funeral of Poland's first female sea captain, Danuta Kobylińska-Walas, took place in Warsaw's Wilanów church and cemetery on July 15th. For many years, she was the only Polish woman to command ships. She passed away on June 21st of this year. Delegations from Szczecin, the Polish Steamship Company, and the Szczecin Club of Sea Captains attended the funeral.

Born on November 27, 1931, in Kozietuły, after World War II, she and her family moved to Kamień Pomorski. After completing a sailing course in 1946, she decided to become a sailor. She settled in Szczecin and studied at the State Maritime School from 1949 to 1951. However, in the first years after graduation, she was not permitted to sail. She worked at the Szczecin Harbor Master's Office, the Central Office of the Merchant Navy, and at the Shipyard Transfer Bases in Gdańsk and Szczecin. She boarded her first ship in 1956 and became captain on February 16, 1962. She commanded such units as: m/s "Kopalnia Wujek", "Kołobrzeg II", "Toruń", "Bieszczady", "Powstaniec Wielkopolski", "Budowlany", "Uniwersytet Toruński", "Jarosław", "Malbork".

She was named Szczecin's Woman of the Year in 1966. Her plaque is located in Captains' Square next to the Old Slaughterhouse in Szczecin's Łasztownia district. She received the Gold Badge of Honor "Meritorious Sea Worker" and the Gold Badge of Honor of the Pomeranian Griffin, the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and numerous other distinctions. She was known worldwide. She was nicknamed "Żaba" (Frog) for her outstanding swimming skills. Her eventful life was chronicled in the biography "Pierwsza po boga" (First After God) by the maritime writer and marine captain Eugeniusz Daszkowski.

She leaves behind a mourning family: her son, granddaughter, and great-grandson, as well as a group of people for whom she was a rock. They said their final goodbyes on Tuesday at St. Anne's Church in Wilanów and at the local cemetery.

"You devoted your entire life to your passion – working on the seas and oceans," said Captain Włodzimierz Grycner, president of the Szczecin Club of Master Mariners. "The crews loved you because, despite the harshness of your command, you were like a caring mother to them. You nurtured your ships. You cared for your crews not only on board, but also on land. You were the first female master mariner in Poland and the second in the world, breaking myths and barriers. You achieved many honors and distinctions, but most importantly – you won the hearts of sailors. Sail peacefully on the heavenly oceans!"

Among those saying goodbye were also representatives of the Private Primary School in Kozietuły, which bears the name of the captain.

A more extensive report from the funeral ceremony and a memory of Danuta Kobylińska-Walas will be published on July 24 in our "Kurier Morski" supplement.

Holy Mass in Szczecin

This Sunday (July 20) at 12 noon, the Holy Mass of the Sea People will be celebrated in the Maritime Church at 9 St. Spirit Street in Szczecin (as usual, on the third Sunday of the month).

– We will pray for the late captain of the great seafaring company, Danuta Kobylińska-Walas – announced Father Stanisław Flis, diocesan chaplain to the seafarers.

(ek)