He is accused of filming Estonia: Not disturbing the peace of the grave

Of: Anders johansson

Published: September 28, 2020 kl. 22.03

He deliberately defied the law of peace when the underwater camera was shipped to Estonia.

But accused journalist Henrik Evertsson, 33, believes he did not commit a crime or offend any victim when the damage to the helmet was filmed.

– The finding sheds new light on the Estonian disaster, he tells Aftonbladet.

Henrik Evertsson had just started school when the sinking of Estonia became big news in the fall of 1994.

Since then, he has taken an interest in the event and read everything that has been written about the extensive tragedy. He has lived in Norway for twelve years, where he also trained as a journalist. One circumstance that has corroded is how the ship was able to sink so fast.

The thoughts became an idea to do a proper journalistic review of what it was like. Although it could be considered illegal. Today, on the anniversary of the disaster, his new documentary series ESTONIA – The Finding That Changes Everything is released.

Photo: Dplay

Underwater image of the new documentary series “Estonia: the discovery that changes everything”.

The find in question is therefore the 4-meter-high, 1.2-meter-wide hole in the hull that extends both below and above the waterline.

Why did you choose to break the peace of the grave?

– During the investigative work for this documentary, we spoke with many family members and many survivors. It turned out that this question was as relevant today as it was 26 years ago. It is because you think you have not received all the answers.

– With this documentary series we try to give answers. And then one of the questions was: Is there a hole in the boat? We just had to do this survey to see if there is a hole or not.

But did you know that it could lead to prosecution?

– We had been through this both ethically and legally before. And of course there was the risk that it could lead to prosecution.

Shouldn’t the victims be allowed to rest in peace?

– We had the support of the family association who thought this was so important. And the way this investigation was done, for example, we were never inside the wreck itself, it did not disturb the peace of the victims of this disaster.

How would you describe what you have done?

– So we went with a diving robot, a so-called ROV, around the wreck to see if there was any damage to the hull. We started on port and then starboard, and that’s when we found this damage.

How did you feel when you discovered the hole?

– We were very focused on getting a good documentation of the damage so we don’t feel very sorry in this situation, but it is clear: it is dizzying to see such a great damage on the side of the ship.

How has the injury affected the process?

– Experts we spoke to on the show say this may have affected how Estonia sank. The damage is so great that it cannot be ruled out that it affected the sinking process.

So Estonia has sunk faster?

– Yes, exactly, you can behave that way.

How is it that this damage has not been detected before?

– The background to why we wanted to do this investigation was that we could find no documentation that the entire wreck had been examined. This was especially true on the starboard side, where the documentation was very poor.

What do you think should be done now?

– With so many deaths like the Estonian disaster and so many that have been affected directly and indirectly, I hope that you will take this seriously and try to investigate what has caused this damage that we have found. And that investigates if it affected the tragic outcome.

Because it is important?

– It is important for global maritime safety that such a serious accident can also contribute to maritime safety.

Published: September 28, 2020 kl. 22.03

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