The bow ramp of the MS Estonia wreck recovered from the Baltic seabed
The bow ramp of the MS Estonia wreck has been recovered from the Baltic seabed and is to be brought to Estonia today, Tuesday, ERR reports referring to the Estonian Safety Investigation Bureau (OJK), overseeing a recent investigation at the site.
The bow vehicle ramp is a critical component in understanding exactly what happened during the MS Estonia disaster. The ferry sank in rough seas in the small hours of September 28, 1994, with the loss of 852 lives.
The ramp is to be brought to the South Harbor at the Port of Paldiski, around 50km West of Tallinn, the OJK says.
This concludes a survey which began last Thursday and was led by the OJK and its Swedish counterpart, the SHK, and was the first dive at the wreck site since 2021.
Sailing under the Norwegian flag, the Viking Reach, a survey ship, left the site, due South of the Turku archipelago, before 5 a.m. this morning, Estonian time, and is due to arrive between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. today, Thursday, July 25.
Upon arrival, the bow ramp will be conveyed from the vessel, to the shore, at Paldiski South Harbor.
During the course of the past few days' work, bedrock and fouling samples were acquired from near a significant hole in the starboard side of the hull.
Cut-out pieces of the port side plating, extricated by divers in late 1994 in order to examine the interior of the wreck and left in situ, were also recovered.
A steel sample from the damaged starboard side of the ferry's hull was also obtained, as was cabin window glass and seal.
The latest investigation made use of dive robots (ROVs) and other tech not available in 1994; human divers were not deployed.
The work went on round-the-clock, in shifts, starting from the moment the Viking Reach arrived at the wreck site, shortly after midnight last Thursday.
The wreck lies in around 80m of water.
