The study carried out at Tallinn University of Technology has calculated the forces that arose when the ship hit the seabed after the sinking on 27 September 1994.
In the study, simulations were carried out to assess whether the damage seen on the ship’s starboard side could have occurred when it hit the bottom.
During a press conference in Tallinn on Wednesday, simulations were shown where severe deformations on the hull appeared to occur in connection with the ship’s impact on the seabed. During the simulations, similar damages to those discovered on the hull in connection with the documentary film also occurred.
The simulations show that this is likely how the injuries occurred, according to the report’s lead author Kristjan Tabri, professor at Tallinn University of Technology.
The findings are in line with what was presented in the accident commissions’ preliminary report in January 2023. Then it was concluded that the bedrock on the bottom matches Estonia’s damage, which the results of a preliminary study in the summer of 2021 also showed.
The preliminary report further stated that there is no indication that Estonia collided with another vessel or object, based on the evidence collected at the time. There is also no indication that any kind of explosion would have occurred.
The report found, just like the one from 1997, that there were, among other things, deficiencies in the bow visor. Both the Swedish and the Estonian accident commissions also concluded that Estonia was not seaworthy. An inspection of the bow section was never carried out and the ship was thus wrongly certified.
Had such an inspection been done, the accident could have been avoided, according to the preliminary report.
Fact: Estonia is therefore being investigated again
The decision to conduct new investigations at Estonia is based on findings shown in a 2020 documentary film. Previously unknown holes in the hull were discovered and theories about how they arose were presented.
Estonia’s accident authority decided to open a new investigation to review the data. Swedish and Finnish authorities were asked to participate in the investigative work.
During the summer of 2021 and 2022, the outside of the ship was photographed and samples were taken from the bottom.
In July 2023, more surveys were conducted. Then, among other things, they filmed inside car tires and salvaged a window and a piece of sheet metal near the holes in the hull. Estonia’s bow ramp was also salvaged to be examined more closely.
(TT)