2011X62 Sinking of the Ferry Estonia

 Sinking of the Ferry Estonia

- Sweden

- Report No. 7039OR

Summary of the Findings of the German Group of Experts Investigation into the Sinking of the ferry ESTONIA given to the representativesof the Swedish Relatives Organisations.
The ESTONIA left Tallin on the evening of September 27 1994 with theManagers of the Company knowing that the vessel was in a completely unseaworthycondition. This led to the slack visor nearly completely filling up withwater which then streamed onto the car deck through openings of the damagedbow ramp. This was at first unnoticed by the crew. The ingress of watercaused the starboard list, already existing due to wrong loading and windpressure, to increase and the vessel became trimmed by the head.

At about 0050, the bow ramp was pushed open from the inner side of thecar deck by unsecured cargo in connection with large quantities of watersurging forward due the vessel pitching. This ramp was subsequently heldin a partly open position by its hydraulic cylinders. This caused approximately160 tonnes of water to flow from the visor space onto the car deck, whilstthe visor space became immediately refilled with water. Once the waterwas noticed by the crew, at about 0055, the speed was reduced from approximately15 knots to 6 knots and the bow was slowly turned to port into the wind. (Not recommended!)

Due to the elimination of the effect of the stabilisers because of thereduction in speed, the water surging onto the car deck via the partly openbow ramp and the shifting cargo, the ferry abruptly listed about 20 degreesto starboard at 0102. This list subsequently increased. In spite of therudders being to starboard, the vessel turned further to port until shewas laying stopped with the wind and sea on the beam.

The starboard visor hinge, which had previously been severely damagedby unqualified repairs, then broke, followed shortly afterwards by the portvisor hinge. The ferry had by that time already listed to about 30 degreesand shortly after all four main engines shut down automatically. Aftera strong deck beam had been severed, the side locks and actuator foundationbeen broken, the visor moved more and more forward and the already partlyopen bow ramp fell into the visor due to the increasing pressure of thewater on the car deck.

After the "Atlantic" lock had also broken at about 0115 andboth actuators had broken through the front bulkheads of the vessel, thevisor tumbled completely forward onto the ice span and finally onto thebulbous bow. The bow ramp was by now completely open and water surged intothe car deck in even greater quantities.

The vessel had, for a short while stabilised at an angle of about 40degrees but the list then rapidly increased. The auxiliaries stopped andthe emergency generator started. It was not until after all this that thefirst Mayday was sent out at 0122. That is at a time when the main enginesand auxiliaries had stopped, the vessel had an increasing list of 40 degreesor more and was lying beam on to continuously increasing storm and stateof sea. At 0132, the ESTINIA was laying completely on her side and at 0153disappeared from the radar screen of the Finnish ferry "Mariella".