25th anniversary of the MS Estonia tragedy

It was the worst ship accident in European post-war history: on 28 September 1994 MS Estonia sank on its way from Tallinn to Stockholm, dragging 852 people to their death. Many people in Sweden and Estonia commemorated the 25th anniversary of the tragedy on the weekend. There are still no conclusive answers as to why the ship sank. Estonia's press discusses whether a new investigation should be launched.

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Õhtuleht (EE) /

The case needs to be reopened

The ship disaster should be re-examined using modern technology, demands Õhtuleht:

“Not only is there a considerable number of conspiracy theories, there are also numerous attempts to investigate the actual cause of the disaster. The fact that various countries kept the investigation documents on the ship tragedy under lock and key for a long time only further fuelled speculation. Today Estonia is a different country than it was 25 years ago. Back then it was painstakingly trying to build up a new life after the Soviet occupation. Its current possibilities can't be compared with those it had back then. There are many survivors and relatives of the victims who would want a new investigation. With today's technological possibilities it would certainly take place on a whole new level.”

Äripäev (EE) /

No one wants to hear the answers

Commenting in Äripäev, maritime expert Tauri Roosipuu contradicts the statement that the Estonia accident has not yet been sufficiently investigated:

“There are answers to the main questions about why the ship sank, but most people don't want to hear them. MS Estonia sank as a result of project, design and certification errors. Firstly, the bow visor construction was too weak and the locks broke in the autumn storm. Secondly, if the broken visor had been visible from the bridge, the consequences probably wouldn't have been so catastrophic. ... It's likely that the information that the visor was broken didn't reach the bridge until the final phase of the accident.”