[Lt.Cannonfodder]

It's been ten years since the car/passenger ferry M/S Estonia sank at the stormy Baltic Sea, taking with it the lives of 852 passengers and crew. Most of them were either swedes or estonians. Only 137 survived in total and only 95 bodies were ever recovered from the sea.

I don't know how well the disaster is known outside the Baltic Nations and Europe, but to us it means a lot. It was the largest peace-time sea disaster ever on the Baltic and still remains a hot topic.

The official explanation of the sinking was the failure of the bow door locks. The entire bow visor tore off in the rough weather (wind 25-30m/s, waves at 6-12m). The water quickly flooded the car deck and the ship begun to lurch. In only 30 minutes the ship turned entirely over and sank, leaving the survivors to the freezing water. M/S Mariella arrived shortly after and helped the rescue helicopters to locate and recover the survivors.

The bow visor was later lifted from the sea for investigations. The ship itself was left to the ocean, with Sweden, Estonia and Finland declaring sanctity over the site. This however has not prevented conspiracy theorists from violating the tomb of the victims in the search of evidence for the claimed bomb aboard the ship.

[kode]

I've been meaning to make a thread on it today too. ah, well, you're ahead of me, it seems. Jutta Raube is arrested in her absence in sweden, btw, because of violating that sanctity when making "baltic sea".

many swedes knew someone that drowned when estonia sank that night 10 years ago, and not letting them have their rest in piece is a despicable thing to do.

[an0n]

I fail to see why this is any worse than a stray American missile or a bout of Flu killing off old people.

[Turnsky]

Originally posted by an0n
I fail to see why this is any worse than a stray American missile or a bout of Flu killing off old people.

prolly 'cause it was a man-made, peacetime disaster, much like the herald of free enterprise ferry sinking, chernobyl, and the Kings cross subway fire.

all of which occured because some idiot did/didn't do something.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by an0n
I fail to see why this is any worse than a stray American missile or a bout of Flu killing off old people.

and does that stop it being a bad thing?

[Mongoose]

I remember seeing a special about this on the Discovery Channel a while back.  It's sad that types of accidents happen .

[kode]

Originally posted by Mongoose
I remember seeing a special about this on the Discovery Channel a while back.  It's sad that types of accidents happen .

I'm mostly amazed it's been 10 years already.

[Dark_4ce]

Has it been that long?
Wow...

I remember when it happened. My neighbor was the head of the morgue where they took the bodies, which was also right down the road from my house.

[Stunaep]

Originally posted by Turnsky


prolly 'cause it was a man-made, peacetime disaster, much like the herald of free enterprise ferry sinking, chernobyl, and the Kings cross subway fire.

all of which occured because some idiot did/didn't do something.

It is also the biggest peacetime naval catastrophe since 1916. And the biggest peacetime catastrophe for estonia, since well... ever.

Anyway, I've personally lost a relative on Estonia, and I know a girl, who lost both her parents, so I pretty much feel the same way as   a good part of the country at the moment.  And indeed, doesn't feel  like 10 years at all, the same way like 9/11 doesn't feel like it's been 3 years.

[kode]

nay, actually there was some other that was worse in the mediterranean, but since estonia is "closer to home"...

[karajorma]

Cause of the UK suffered a similar disaster previously this was pretty big news in the UK so most of us Brits heard about it.

I remember reading that ironically enough it was the Swedes who blocked a bunch of EU directives that would have prevented this.
The EU wanted to bring in stuff like watertight bulkheads etc after the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.

[kode]

Originally posted by karajorma
I remember reading that ironically enough it was the Swedes who blocked a bunch of EU directives that would have prevented this.
The EU wanted to bring in stuff like watertight bulkheads etc after the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.

when was that, 1987? we joined the EU in '94, you know. and estonia was badly maintained as well.

[Stunaep]

Originally posted by karajorma

I remember reading that ironically enough it was the Swedes who blocked a bunch of EU directives that would have prevented this.
The EU wanted to bring in stuff like watertight bulkheads etc after the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.

Not to mention, that Estonia, who owned the ship joined the EU just this year

[Kazan]

i don';t know what the **** you're talking about Stunaep - it sure feels like it's been three years since 9/11 -- three long years of a disasterous president

and arresting people in absentia, prohibint people from investigating -- that sounds like a bloody coverup -- did the ship sink in international waters? if so the countries who claimed "sanctity" can shuve it up their asses

[Janos]

IIRC Estonia site was classified as a some vague kind of grave by Swedish-Fenno-Estonian New Calamari Union, or something. Jutta Rabe is an ass, however. If she had something concrete behind her "ZOMG CONSPIRACY MUTANTS OF DOOM", she could show it instead of vague accusations of Russian mafia, bombs, subs, ewoks and whatever.

Estonia was really badly maintained and was in no ways suitable for autumn Baltic. As they figured out what had happened, it was already too late.

[Stunaep]

Originally posted by Kazan
i don';t know what the **** you're talking about Stunaep - it sure feels like it's been three years since 9/11 -- three long years of a disasterous president
 

Well, I'm not american, so I didn't have to put up with his stupidity daily. So there.

[an0n]

Seemed more like two - two and a half years to me.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by kode
when was that, 1987? we joined the EU in '94, you know. and estonia was badly maintained as well.

They might have been international ones then. All I remember was reading that if the swedes hadn't blocked the proposals that would have been standard on the Estonia and the whole disaster wouldn't have happened.

Admittedly better mainainence on the Estonia would have put the ship in a position where the emergency bulkheads wouldn't have been needed.