ESTONIA in Discovery Channels' "Zero Hour"

[Jeroen v.d. Kaaden]

Yesterday (Wednesday 26 oktober) here in the Netherlands at Discovery Channel was in the program 'Zero Hour' the disaster of the M/V Estonia.

I'm very interested in the vessel and al the developments in the investigation to the sinking of M/V Estonia an al the facts around for many years.

Discovery announced their programm, as divulging, with new facts, etc.. But for me that was a kind of disappointment, maybe 2 other/new facts in compare to earlier television programs over the Estonia and the sinking of it.

I read and discovered a lot about the horrible sinking of this vessel on internet, read the book from Juta Rabe, (only didn't see the movie "Baltic Storm" but I hope to do that soon), and noticed that the story is not the way as the media is showing to the outher-world, to us..

For example; it's proven that on some important areas of the bow-visor are marks from detonation. The shape of the steel, and force which bend it, can only done by explosion-power. Especialy the shape, outward bended, like a flower..
But this is just one of the many facts there are, who contradict to the theorie, and the story we know, heavy weather, to high speed, bad bowdoor closingdevise, poor maintenance, badly an to weak constructed by shipyard, etc... etc...

I was just wondering if anybodyelse also see this documentairy at Discovery.
I realy hope that some day the real story come above.
Sometimes it seems to be forget, 852 people died.
Many times on television you see of aircrashes flashbacks, in-memories, etc. for example of Pan-am, and other terrible plane-crashes,  but Estonia never.. Strange.

Regards from Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

[JMS]

Here you have the report, including an animation.

http://www.onnettomuustutkinta.fi/estonia/

Given the twisting of the bow visor, any kind of pattern may be present without necessarily implying explosives.

[Jeroen v.d. Kaaden]

Thnx JMS.
Ik know this report.

But still then.. so much contradictions more.
personaly I can't believe the vessel sinked 100% due the bowvisor design and locking-device.

[JMS]

Well, if you want to be 100% correct, the ship sank due to being filled by water  :-o

Don't understimate the sea, remember the Erika or the Prestige, wave force enough to hole empty compartments surely can overstress the locking pins, and once enough are gone the rest will follow, helped both by the weight of the visor and the force of the sea. Once the car deck is open and it starts filling up with water, stability goes real fast, more so with the ship rolling as it was.

Don't forget either that the AB that checked the door was 1 meter from it when it broke. Had there been explosives, he wouldn't have survived, would he?

[Jeroen v.d. Kaaden]

O.K. O.K. trough the water she sanked. agree.
But survived passangers reported water icome from deck 0 and 1 (below waterline). So probably water income was lower then bow-opening. Why she sanked so fast. When the shipped had to be sanked as told by the final report of the 3 goverments and JAIC (flooding cardeck only) there should be enough air in the double hull to let her floot for at least more then a day up side down, but due the weight there already was in the with water filled lower area of the vessel she sanked in 45 mintus.. what about the 13 missing crew memebers.. It was btw well-known that there was a lot of smuggling on that particular route from Estonia to Sweden..

After disaster it is also a fact, that the ship was 100t. heavier then in the loading-manifest was.. there were more trucks onboard then on the papers..

I mean, it's so easy to point in a direction of the probably reason she sank, because we had Herald of Free enterprise first, so probably not enough lessons learned bla bla bla... but the most real proof, and the best proof is still under water, and goverments do there best to avoid some can get it.. manipulating, etc..

But i think this is a point people will have different thoughts about. no problem. I realy hope some day there will be new evidence, new facts.. real proofable facts, but i think we can wait very very very long on that day.

Regards.

[Jeroen v.d. Kaaden]

for people who're interested in the report of the 'German Groups of experts'; (contra-expertise)

Interesting report, and I recommend to everybody who's interested in it. The best is to also notice the finalreport of JAIC.

http://www.estonia.exprimo.net/estonia/index.html

this report shines a light from the othersite on the disaster..

Also a good site and report + facts about Estonia:
http://www.factgroup.nu/

[JMS]

I know about this reports, I was looking for them but they eluded me, thanks for bringing them up.

The thing is that the loss of Estonia is not that different from that of other Ro-Ro ferries, including Herald of the Free Enterprise and European Gateway, in which water on the cardeck ends up provoking the capsizing of the vessel. The difference in Estonia's case is that she got in trouble in the high seas and stormy conditions which were conductive to a very fast sinking.

[Jeroen v.d. Kaaden]

Your welcome!

Yes the Estonia capsized just like the Herald of Free Enterprise, due the free surface-effect, of water on the cardeck. Only I have some doubt were the water started comming in to Estonia, read a lot about it, see pictures, and all the reports there are at this moment on internet.  But the fact that there were problems with bow visor I agree, no doubt about. Vessel had ice-damaging before on bowdoors, hinges en closing-device.

[kevin blair]

It also has to be asked why Sweden and Finland are so determined that no new inquiry be held and why Sweden tried to encase the Estonia with concrete.

[Jeroen v.d. Kaaden]

@ kevin,

That's correct.. one of the so much dubious points.
Covering the M/V Estonia with concrete. The Swedish government told as reason 'to protect the vessel of robbing'. Yeh, sure. Robbing what, criminals did already robbed passangers who reached the otherdecks that night!!, but o.k. beside of that.. Most divers are sports divers then, wreckdiving, but wreckdiving to Estonia shouldn't be a pleasant at all, only the thought that more then 800 body's still in, and when it's a "bad-diver", risk his life to go in the vessel at 80 meters depht for robbing some money left in the gamming-machines or counter of the shop/restaurant, or something else, well I don't believe.

Probably some more interesting; 200 ton of un-identified cargo/loading (or it was water, a un-pumpalble compartment already full of water, maybe the later mounted stabilizers, who are in a not-accesable void..)