A high-profile documentary about Estonia released in 2020 raised the idea that the holes found in the side of the hull could have been caused by some kind of explosion or collision, and that it could be the cause of the 1994 accident in which 852 people lost their lives.
The dives carried out by the State Accident Commission together with Estonian colleagues in recent days have not shown anything to indicate an explosion.
– Now more people get to look at this, but it looks like the damage was done when she hit the bottom. That is what is most likely, says Daniel Söderman, investigator at the National Accident Commission, to TT.
77 meters into the wreck
In recent days, with the help of a remote-controlled underwater craft, so-called ROVs, they have been able to film inside the wreck. At first problems were encountered in getting into the ship, as cars and scrap were making noise inside the car decks.
The hole discovered on the side of the hull has been examined from the inside. The footage shows that the paint and nearby pipes are intact, which does not indicate an explosion.
– We have not seen anything that would deviate in any strange way other than that it is dented and dented, but you can clearly see white paint everywhere, says Daniel Söderman, at the State Accident Commission to TT.
Earlier this week, samples were taken, among other things, of dark spots that are near the holes in the hull and that are believed to be due to bacterial growth.
Towing the car ramp
In the new investigations carried out by the Estonian, Finnish and Swedish authorities, they will, among other things, salvage the car ramp to investigate whether there is any damage to it that may have caused the accident.
The investigations from inside the hull can also show whether valves and hatches were open and could have caused the sinking.
Therefore, Estonia is being examined again
The decision to conduct new investigations at Estonia is based on findings from that were 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. The National Accident Commission and the Finnish Accident Investigation Center were asked to participate in the investigation work.
During the summer of 2021 and 2022, the outside of the ship was photographed and samples were taken from the bottom.
Since Wednesday, the ship Viking Reach has been at the sinking site for new investigations.
Source: TT.