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Expert compares the visor to a can opener: can you explain the new hole
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The Swedish Board of Accident Investigation has re-examined the Estonian book viewer.
An inspection was recently carried out at the Muskö naval base.
– The observations will form the basis for further analysis, says Jonas Bäckstrand, head of Estonian research in Sweden.
The Swedish Accident Investigation Board is currently investigating the new data on holes on the starboard side of Estonia. As part of the investigation, the bow visor has been re-inspected, according to documents from the Armed Forces.
The bow visor is stored at the Muskö naval base.
The head of the Estonian investigation in Sweden, Jonas Bäckstrand of the Swedish Accident Investigation Board, confirms that an inspection was carried out on 12 November.
– The visit was attended by personnel from the Estonian and Swedish accident commissions and related experts. The Finnish Accident Investigation Board did not participate in the visit due to crown restrictions that apply in Finland, says Jonas Bäckstrand.
Photo: Anneli Karlsson / Museum of Maritime History
M / S Estonia book visor, located at the Muskö Naval Base.
Photo: Pontus Lundahl / TT
Jonas Bäckstrand, Deputy Director General of the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board.
Did the inspection give something?
– Yes. None of us working on the current review have participated in previous investigations into the sinking of Estonia. Part of our work deals with the need to familiarize ourselves with the above research material. Inspecting the bow visor is an obvious part of this. The observations will form the basis for future analyzes.
The theory: the visor opened the hole
According to the accident investigation in 1997, the Estonian disaster was caused by the breakage and loosening of the ship’s bow visor, this due to strong waves against the visor. One of the technical experts who was involved in that investigation, Klaus Rahka, recently published a report on the new information.
“It appears that a large can opener has entered and opened the hole,” he writes in the report. He then shows with the help of pictures that the Estonian bow visor has protruding parts which, according to him, have the characteristics of a can opener.
Rahka’s conclusion is that the bow visor fell off, fell into the water, and ripped the hole in the hull as the ship passed. According to him, the visor could have stayed in the water for a while due to the air pockets.
The report was sent to the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board, but the authority does not want to comment on the content.
Photo: DPLAY
The damage is a third aft on the starboard side of Estonia and extends both above and below the waterline. Here it is illustrated in a graph.
Photo: Anders Wiklund / TT
The salvage ship Ugland stands alongside the dock in Hanko, Finland, on November 19, 1994, after rescuing the bow visor of M / S Estonia.
You have contacted expert companies
Documents from the Accident Investigation Board also show that two companies carrying out advanced sunken ship investigations have been contacted. Aftonbladet has spoken with representatives of both companies. They confirm that the Accident Investigation Board has shown interest in their methods, but emphasize that no decisions have been made on further investigations.
– It was more of an initial verification of what our method means, says Ingemar Lundgren, CEO of Ocean Discovery, one of the companies.
Revised raw materials of the documentary
The day after the inspection of the bow visor, the accident commissions examined the raw material of the new Estonian documentary, something that Aftonbladet had previously reported on. Neither the Swedish nor the Estonian authorities want to comment on the material.
– It was interesting, but I still don’t want to draw any conclusions, says Jens Haug, head of the accident investigation authority in Estonia.
Jonas Bäckstrand:
– We have had the opportunity to look at it and we appreciate it, but I cannot comment on any analysis of that result right now.
Photo: FILE IMAGE
Estonia M / S.
Aftonbladet extra edition after the disaster.
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