On the day of the Estonia ferry disaster, Mikael Õun was on his way back to Sweden, from where he brought furniture and household appliances. He not only managed to survive, but also took two photographs - the only photographs from the sinking ship, writes Eesti Päevaleht.

Photo: Tiit Blaat

“Look, this is the reason why I ended up in Estonia that time,” Mikael shows a photo where he stands in front of a truck loaded with furniture and household appliances. - Mrs. Tamara Alep, who was involved in charity, called me because she knew that I worked for Scania and could help her translate things. We took them to an orphanage center where young people began their independent lives.”

Estonia (formerly Viking Sally, Silja Star, Wasa King) is an Estonian ferry of the shipping company Estline, was built in 1979 in Germany at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. Sank on the night of September 27 to September 28, 1994, as a result of the crash, 757 people were missing and 95 people died out of 989 passengers and crew on board. It is Europe's largest peacetime shipwreck. In terms of its consequences and the number of victims, it can only be compared with the largest maritime tragedy in the history of Estonia, which occurred on August 24, 1941, when, at the exit from the port of Tallinn after an attack by German aircraft, the largest ship in Estonia, the steamship, was holed and sank near the island of Prangli Eestirand (Russian: “Estonian coast”), on which several thousand people left Tallinn before the advancing Wehrmacht.

These are the last photographs of Tamara Alep, her life was interrupted on the Estonia ferry. When the ship tilted, Mikael had no way to find her. “We had different cabins. She is a woman, otherwise we would be in the same cabin. Tamara checked herself into another cabin, I didn’t even know which one. We agreed that we would meet in the morning for breakfast,” he explained, noting that during a disaster a person seems to be paralyzed, all his strength is spent assessing the situation and there is no time to think about anything that is not related to survival.

The man remembers that evening thoroughly. After dinner, he went to the sauna, where he talked with the sailors. They noticed that on this day the sea was especially turbulent - the bathhouse was open, but it was impossible to swim in the pool, splashes of water sometimes reached the ceiling. Before going to bed, Mikael felt a slight attack seasickness. He woke up when the excitement became especially strong. The ship has not yet heeled.

“There was no list yet, but strong excitement was felt, sounds loud sounds. At some point the ship tilted,” he recalls. The roll was so great that the wall suddenly seemed to become a floor.

All things fell off the table, including a camera and an alarm clock. Mikael put them in his pocket. He only noticed later that the batteries fell out of the alarm clock when he fell. Now this object, made of transparent purple plastic, is an exhibit at the Swedish Maritime Museum. The clock hands froze, thus recording the moment the roll appeared.

"I don't wear wristwatch, so I put the alarm clock in my pocket just in case. Camera too. Since the cabin door was open, I didn't want them to fall anymore or get lost,” Mikael explained. After that, he went to the information table to find out what happened.

“It was still possible to walk along the corridor. But the ship was already heavily tilted, it was not easy. - he noted. He never made it to the information table. - When I reached the stairs, panic reigned, people were screaming. I immediately decided to go upstairs to the outer deck to the lifeboats.”

According to him, before reaching the deck, he heard a weak female voice conveying a warning in Estonian. “Alarm, alarm, there is alarm on the ship...”, Mikael repeated the words of that woman. In Swedish and English languages this message was not heard.

The materials of the investigation of the shipwreck note that, by and large, those who heard this weak female voice while already on the outer deck or close to it managed to escape. Those who were inside the ship at the time of this alarm did not get out because the corridors became impassable. The long corridor spans of the ship lying on board turned into deep wells, people fell or they were unable to jump over the resulting windows. The stairs also became impassable.

By the time Mikael reached the last steps, the ship tilted even more. His perception is very different from the investigation materials.

“As I climbed up the ladder, the ship tilted 45 degrees. It was impossible to move along the corridors, people were falling. The railings attached to the walls, which people were frantically grabbing at, flew off. All this happened when I was on the last steps of the ladder,” he continued.

Mikael's words make me think about the statistics - it was mostly men who survived, the youngest was 12 years old. Children died, and few women were saved. Mikael survived, not least because he was young and tall.

“I was at the top of the stairs, I had to cope somehow. About two meters separated me from the door, which was now upstairs. People around me were screaming and falling,” the man continued, explaining that he managed to grab the door handle and pull himself out.

He was one of the last to get out, and the deck was full of people, scurrying around life rafts or putting on life jackets. Fastening the vest turned out to be difficult and Mikael was unable to cope with this task - he realized this only when the vest flew off after jumping into the water. Standing on the outer deck, he didn't know what to do.

“I stood and watched. At times of stress, thought processes are very intense, they take away all the energy,” said Mikael. The list of the ship increased, people stopped getting onto the deck. Those remaining inside were trapped.

Mikael decided that it was worth staying on the ship as long as possible, so he was in no hurry to jump into the water. As the list increased, he and others scrambled along the side away from the water. Eventually Mikael found himself and several others on the surface of the hull below the waterline. The last piece of “Estonia” remained afloat.

“At some point I noticed the lights of Mariella and Silja in the distance, it reminded me of the camera. I just held it in front of me and tried to attract attention with the flash. I took one picture by pointing the camera upward - for a helicopter,” only then did he realize how stupid this idea was.

Sea water damaged the film, but later it was possible to develop it - the photographs came out poisonous green. Based on these photographs, investigators reconstructed the ferry crash. The man photographed by Mikael also survived - after the publication of photographs in Helsingin Sanomat, friends recognized him as Yanno Azeri. Janno never told his story, only twenty years after the disaster he transferred his memories to the pages of the book “People of Estonia”. 20 years later".

Yanno described how he sat with a friend and thought about what to do next. He noticed that someone began to take photographs: “He stood on the bottom of the ship and took photographs. I realized that other ships were passing in the distance in the form of tiny points of light and he wanted to attract their attention. I also thought, what a fool, this is hopeless - no one will notice from such a distance.”

Looking at the fact that the wave rolled over the entire bottom of the ship, from which Mikael got wet to the skin, it became clear to him that this place must be left urgently.

“At that moment, I made the quickest decision of my life - whether to jump in the direction where it was pitch black or where the lights of the life rafts were flickering. I chose rafts,” he knew how to swim, but still not at the level of a professional athlete. The vest flew off, and he got to the surface after a few strokes. The water seemed to be boiling, the sinking “Estonia” created millions of bubbles.

“Then I didn’t feel that the water was cold, it’s probably defense mechanism man,” Mikael recalled, talking about how he swam to the raft. At some point, it seemed to him that he could no longer row, but, gathering his last strength, he managed to climb onto one of the lifeboats and help several other people with this.

There were 12 people on the raft, but there was water in it. By the time helicopters arrived to help, ten people remained alive.

“Ten people survived, two froze to death. On our raft, one man began to leave almost immediately. There was water in the raft, I kept his head above the water so he wouldn't drown. He froze to death. I was forced to let him go and push him away,” Mikael recalled.

Helicopters spotted people on the raft a couple of hours after the crash of the Estonia, but their turn came only after dawn. Ten people from this rescue craft were picked up by a Finnish helicopter. During the night and morning he saved 49 people. Mikael was taken to the Silja Symphony.

Cell phones were rare at the time, but he managed to find someone who had one. My wife didn't answer the phone. As it turned out, she and his father were waiting for news at the port. Mikael's mother answered - she was left on duty on the phone at home. “Mom didn’t believe it was me. She asked: is it really you, because this is impossible.”

Afterword

It took Mikael time to recover emotionally and physically. After this, he began to ask himself questions to which he still had not received comprehensive answers. He collected a whole bunch of materials and stores photographs of “Estonia” on his computer. He went to inspect a nose visor stored near Stockholm. Mikael disagrees with one of the conclusions of the shipwreck investigation report, which states that the list gradually increased.

“The ship tilted sharply twice, after which it stopped and began to turn around,” he emphasized.

Mikael is also dissatisfied with Swedish politicians who have betrayed their promises to bring “Estonia” to the surface. He also wants a new, detailed investigation.

“I and many other victims need answers. Even if these are not beautiful answers. Only after this we can consider this topic closed,” concluded Mikael.

Head of rescue operations: we prepared hundreds of beds, but hundreds of coffins were needed

Utö was the closest island to the site of the Estonia ferry wreck. Pasi Staff, who led the rescue efforts on the island twenty years ago (corresponds to a captain of the 3rd rank - Delfi) of the Finnish Navy, spoke about that difficult day. According to him, no one could imagine the scale of the disaster, writes Eesti Päevaleht.

When did you find out that Estonia sank?

Because of the operation I was in Turu hospital. I was sleeping when my sister woke me up at two in the morning. Then everything happened very quickly, within thirty minutes they discussed who should go, for my part I gave advice on what could be done at sea - then I worked as the head of the Utö naval base. Then we immediately moved to Utyo, where we arrived early in the morning.

Was it already known then how tragic the situation was: out of almost a thousand people, just over a hundred were saved?

No. We knew we were in for hours of exhaustion and perhaps death. However, in the end everything should have ended well, since most of the people should have ended up in lifeboats. We believed that we could save them and help them - we prepared for this on the island. I took a thorough ferry rescue course. Back then we could only imagine a power outage or a fire - no one could believe that we were dealing with a shipwreck in which most people would not be saved.

When did you realize that there would be no happy ending?

When the first helicopter arrived. There were people in it, but only three were alive. Then the second one arrived - with two survivors, then the third. I realized that everything was not only unsuccessful, but mind-bogglingly terrible. A total of 64 dead were brought in, only 23 people survived.

These were some of the most difficult hours: when you realize that instead of heating water, preparing hundreds of beds, hundreds of blankets... in reality you need hundreds of coffins. It’s difficult when you realize that no matter what you do and how much you are willing to give it, everything is useless - you can only wait. And you wait, waiting for the dead.

Next it was necessary to decide who would take care of the bodies. There were many conscripts serving in Utyo, but I refused to involve them in work because they were not in the army voluntarily. For them, military service was an obligation to the state; what lay ahead could traumatize them long years. People were needed who could cope with this, like in the film, Rambo-type people. Later it turned out that even they found it difficult to survive such horrors; in fact, women coped best. Their ability to survive the tragedy was amazing, no matter whether it was a nurse or a cashier working on the island - the whole island was doing only one thing that day.

Second important decision touched the bodies of the dead. A few weeks before, I had seen a film on TV in which the dead were put in plastic bags - I immediately knew that this was not for our case. I ordered three hundred coffins from Helsinki Airport, which were stocked in case of disaster. Each victim received a coffin. We knew their last flight had to be a worthy one. Even if the people expecting a happy cruise reached Sweden in a coffin.

What happened to the survivors brought to the island?

They were initially taken to the island hospital and then transported to their homeland. They were on the island for about half a day to a day, they were provided with both medical and psychological assistance. I spoke with many of them, and met some later.

Has anyone managed to escape together, I mean spouses, mothers with children or friends?

No. Those who survived did not experience joy. There were no family members, no spouses, no friends, no co-workers, no... no one. Their loved ones could not exist, since the helicopter then brought only the dead - those who did not drown froze to death. There were only rare survivors and almost all of them were young and strong Estonian men - I did not notice the women, I did not notice the children. Instead, I remember the body of one pregnant woman, her stiff arms remaining in position to hold her second child. Naturally, there was no child. The surviving men are still in contact with rescuers. One of the cooks who worked on “Estonia” now works in a restaurant on that island.

What condition were the rescuers themselves in when they reached the island?

The pilots and divers did a fantastic job. In fact, they were happy because they had the opportunity to save people and they did it. Their tragedy lay in the inevitable choice of who to save first - the choice of who would live. Despite the fact that there were many helicopters, only one helicopter could fly up to a person. At the same time, the survivors mostly huddled together in groups. The rescuers fought not so much against the furious waves, but rather against time, since a person can hold out for cold water Thirty minutes. By the time rescuers arrived on the scene, some survivors had been in the water for three or four hours. This suggests that those who desperately believed in it survived, since in order to survive for so long in the water, an extraordinary will to live is required - the rest at some point simply gave up, since there was virtually no hope left.

Protocol of interrogation of the second navigator of the Estonia: the captain deliberately went to the bottom with the ship

Twenty years ago, now KaPo CEO Arnold Sinisalu interviewed survivors of the Estonia ferry disaster. At that time he worked as a senior assistant to the Security Police.

Between 24 and 27 September, Delfi and Eesti Päevaleht publish the interrogation reports of disaster survivors. The Estonian police refuse to share protocols, citing insufficient public interest. In Sweden, the voiced protocols are publicly available and Delfi and Eesti Päevaleht publish some of them in free translation.

Note: Translator Helen Laane's notes are in italics.

Interrogation protocol of Einar Kukk

Location: Security Police, interrogation led by Sinisalu

The interrogation was translated from a handwritten Estonian text by translator Helen Laane

Interrogation protocol number: K 84051-94

Summary

He completed his internship on Estonia as a second navigator. Got on board at about 16:20. Worked under the direction of Tormi Ainsalu. Ainsalu was also the second navigator. The second navigator’s task is to determine the seaworthiness of the vessel; first of all, he takes care of turning on the stabilizers so that the vessel does not... (difficult word to understand*) on the waves. Stabilizers reduce the speed of the vessel by 0.5-1 knots. I didn’t even pay attention to whether the stabilizers reduced the ship’s pitch. Before the turning point, Andersson left the bridge, the wind became even more westerly. I can say that the trim on the bow remained the entire time I was on the bridge. The navigator said that this was the first storm this fall.

At 00:30 Linde reported that everything was in order. After about five minutes I left the bridge. I went to my cabin on the fourth deck. I put my notebook in the cabin and went to the Admiral pub. There was no one I knew there, so I left. At the door of the service passage I saw Silver Linde again.

He returned to the cabin and lay down on the bed. I didn't even have time to fall asleep. The ship shook and I heard an alien sound, the nature of which was unknown to me, a sailor. I became curious and got dressed. But even before he had time to put on his shoes, the table slid towards the door and the tilt increased. I realized that something was wrong.

I took my jacket and left the cabin. There were no other people in the corridor. On the fifth deck there were 20-30 people running back and forth. Now the ship tilted so much that it became difficult to move. When I was between the fifth and sixth decks, I heard, or rather felt, a shock or vibration. I think it was cars piled on top of each other. After this, the roll increased significantly. People were hanging on the railings and after they moved away, panic began. I made it to the seventh deck; it was no longer possible to walk along the floor past the doors.

I saw Vello Ruuben, and together with him I ended up on the outer deck. I started handing out life jackets to people. People were constantly arriving on deck. At about 01:30 I looked at my watch, ran to the stern and rolled into the water, despite the fact that I hoped that the ship would still be able to stay afloat. When I dived, I reached one of the lifeboats. I swam to the surface and grabbed the lifeboat, but my leg got caught in the rope. When I freed my leg, the wind carried the boat to the side. After the failure, I managed to climb onto another boat.

At about seven o'clock in the morning we were picked up by a Swedish helicopter. There were four people in our boat, everyone was saved. There was one Swede under the boat. Actually, the boat capsized. When they picked us up, it was already light.

The ship radioed some information about the crash, but I don’t know what they said. The light on my deck went out for a few seconds, but then came back on. Flares were fired from the ship. At some point I noticed in the water (unclear word). There was something on the surface of the water (there was also text here, which, unfortunately, I cannot make out). The stern was under water. I didn't see anything else from the ship. I want to emphasize that when I went to bed, I heard an alien sound, but I did not know what it was. Let me add that it was a zip tie, not a rope, that was wrapped around my leg. Most likely, she had a storm drogue or lifeboats attached to her.

(change tape)

I would also like to add that when the captain gave the last whistle, the pipe was half in the water and the last sounds came from under the water. The captain deliberately went to the bottom with the ship.

Items from the ferry “Estonia” (from the collection of the Tallinn Maritime Museum)

Chronology of the crash

18:30 - Passengers are being loaded at the Tallinn port terminal.
19:15 - The Estonia ferry leaves the port, the sky is gloomy, the wind is quite fresh.
20:00 - The ferry follows close to the coast, the sea is noticeably rough.
21:00 - A storm begins.
23:00 - The Estonia ferry has covered 350 km of the route. Sea roughness is increasing.
00:30 - Strong rocking on the ship.
00:55 - The locks of the 50-ton colossal bow ramp / visor do not withstand the impacts of the oncoming wave.
01:00 - Ferry speed 14 knots.
01:15 - Roll 15 degrees to starboard.
01:20 - The roll increases.
01:22 - The list of 60, 70, 80 degrees increases, the ship lies on the starboard side.
01:35 - Heel 90 degrees, the ship lies on the starboard side, on the surface of the water.
01:40 - The ferry "Estonia" plunges into the water.
01:50 - “Estonia” went to the bottom at a depth of 70 meters.
02:00 - Strong wind, wind speed 90 km/h, storm. People don't have enough space on the rafts. Those who do not have enough space die.
02:12 - The passenger ferry Mariella approaches the site of the wreck of the ferry "Estonia", the sailors are having difficulty pulling people out of the water. 50 minutes have passed since the watchman on the Estonia bridge radioed the SOS distress signal.
03:00 - Helicopters hover in the sky. When lifting people from the water, the cables break and people fall into the water. Some people die already on board helicopters - from shock and hypothermia.
09:00 - The last of the 137 rescued were removed from the water.
The ferry Estonia sank within half an hour.

How ships sink:

Monument to those killed on the Estonia ferry in Stockholm

The mystery of the Baltic Titanic

In terms of scale and tragedy, the death of the Estonia has long been on a par with the legendary Titanic, Lusitania and Andrea Doria - after all, the giant ship became the grave for 852 people, of which 757 were never found. But judging by the number of secrets that the holds and decks of the lost ferry keep, the Estonia still remains the darkest and most mysterious maritime disaster of the past century. Even seven years later, there is no consensus on what kind of terrible and incomprehensible force dragged the giant ship to the bottom in a matter of minutes. Moreover, every now and then evidence appears that members of the Estonia crew, hitherto considered dead, are “resurrected” in third countries and under other names, and people who knew too much pass away under intriguing circumstances. Evidence keeps disappearing from the wrecked ferry. Mysteries, secrets, private and state interests were intertwined into a tight knot, and the site of the death of the ferry was declared an international burial place - at the point with coordinates 59 degrees 22 minutes north latitude and 21 degrees 48 minutes west longitude, any diving work is prohibited, and the area itself is patrolled by military frigates . Despite the fact that the ferry lies in shallow water, Estonia, Sweden and Finland have decided not to raise the lost ship under any circumstances. It seems that no one needs the truth about the death of “Estonia” today. This very truth may turn out to be too scary...

What did the "drowned man" say?

An international commission, which included representatives from Sweden, Finland and Estonia, presented its report on the causes of the death of the Estonia back in 1997. But only the authors themselves agree with his conclusions. One of the co-chairs of the commission, professor of Tallinn technical university Jaan Metsaveer, in an exclusive interview with Itogi, outlined his vision of the tragedy. He believes that the Estonia was lost due to defects in the design of the lock that held the bow of the ship (visor) in the stowed position (in the “loading” state, the visor rises on ferries. - “Results”).

Reconstructing the events of seven years ago, Jaan Metsaveer said the following: “That night there was strong sea swell. The wind reached 28 meters per second, the waves rose to a height of 6 meters. We carried out complex calculations that confirmed our assumptions about the reasons for the separation of the bow. on ships of this type, there are three locks - one bottom and two side ones. It all started with the left side one. Unable to withstand the pressure of the waves, it began to slowly loosen, cracked, and then completely fell apart. After that, the other two locks loosened and fell apart. Ramp (ladder) for entry of transport. - "Results"), having lost stability, collapsed on the mechanism serving the visor, and it opened. Water began to be taken in. A list of 15-20 degrees formed to the starboard side. Water began to fill the holds of the ferry more and more, as a result of which The roll began to increase. The engines stopped. Then, at some point, the Estonia began to level out, but a sharp roll followed, 50-60 degrees, and the ship sank in a matter of minutes. Only people who were on the upper decks or who had not yet had time to fall asleep could survive. Many were crushed during the panic, many died without having time to get out of their cabins." To support his version, Mr. Metsaveer provided Itogi with photographic materials from the report, which had not previously been published anywhere. In the filming taken under water at the request of the investigation, visible mechanical damage locks But, as the professor’s opponents claim, “the announced cause is only a consequence of the catastrophic processes that took place on board.”

Secret exhumation

The most implacable opponent of the official version is 73-year-old American millionaire Gregg Bemis. As a professional diver and a member of the American Society of Marine Engineers, one of whose tasks is to determine the causes maritime disasters, he has been involved in the mystery of the death of Estonia for many years. It got to the point that the millionaire had to violate international maritime laws. The fact is that after the completion of the work of the international commission, Finland, Estonia and Sweden signed an agreement declaring the area where the ship was sunk “the final resting place of the crew and passengers.” According to the document, any person attempting to dive to Estonia must be arrested. Later, Great Britain, Denmark, Latvia and Russia joined the treaty. But Gregg Bemis, despite the ban and direct threats from the governments of Sweden and Estonia, undertook a secret expedition to the sunken ship.

Bemis explained his reluctance to comply with the international treaty as follows: “The investigation carried out is incomplete. My own analysis convinced me that the Estonia could not have sunk due to the fact that water rushed onto the car deck. Most likely, it began to come from below. This could have happened "due to a hole formed in the outer casing. An explosion or careless repair are two possible explanations for the cause of the disaster."

According to Itogi, Gregg Bemis' expedition brought sensational results. One of the participants in the dive, German Jutta Rabe, directly stated that “the cause of the death of Estonia was an explosion.” As evidence, Bemis and Rabe cite two studies of ship fragments they recovered from the bottom of the sea. The first was carried out in the earth materials testing department in the German city of Brandenburg. The experts' conclusion read: "The piece of metal being examined did not come into contact with the explosive, but the resulting damage is very similar to the consequences of an explosion." The second analysis was carried out by the materials testing laboratory of the Technical University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany). The conclusions of the university experts were more categorical: “Massive structural damage to two metal pieces occurred as a result of the explosion.” But despite all this, none of the official participants in the investigation recognized its results. Co-chairman of the commission from Estonia, Professor Jaan Metsaveer, told Itogi: “First you need to make sure that these pieces of metal are really from Estonia; you cannot blindly trust Bemis.” And a representative of Memento Mare, an organization uniting relatives of the victims, directly told Itogi about the possibility of falsifying the results of the expedition: “I just don’t understand why Bemis needed to send divers down to take metal samples when the main part, "The ship's visor has been on land for a long time. It was picked up back in 1994 by the Finnish icebreaker Nordica. The visor was studied by Finnish police experts and did not find any traces of an explosion. And six years later some Bemis appears and exposes an international conspiracy." One of the German experts, a supporter of Bemis’s version, believes that the explosion could not have occurred at the place where the visor was attached to the body, but nearby. The visor could have come off even after cars poorly secured on the cargo deck began to roll onto the bow due to the trim.

By the way, the version of the explosion is partly confirmed by witness testimony. Thus, Swede Rolf Sirman, who survived the disaster, claimed that, sailing from the ferry, he clearly saw a huge black hole in the waterline area. According to the testimony of another surviving passenger, truck driver from Sweden Karl Ovberg, before the disaster there were two impacts that shook the entire ship and resembled an explosion. In addition, a video recording made by the official expedition was leaked to the media. The film clearly shows that there is some kind of oblong orange object attached to the outer hull of the ship. Colonel Udo-Meeme Lettens, sapper inspector of the main headquarters of the Estonian Defense Forces, did not rule out that “the suspicious object found on the Estonia ferry is a plastic explosive or an element of a dry battery used in blasting operations for detonation.” Former lieutenant commander of the British Navy Brian Bradwood, a major explosives expert hired by the German shipyard Mayer Werft, where the Estonia was built in 1980, also agreed with him.

The Russians also contributed to solving the mystery of the death of Estonia. The Felix analytical group, whose ranks include retired state security officers, recently made its version of events public. Referring to information allegedly received through foreign intelligence channels, they unequivocally claim that the Estonia was sunk by smugglers illegally transporting cobalt and heroin on the ferry. Having received a message that the Swedish authorities had become aware of their operation and fearing exposure, they allegedly raised the sight themselves to flood the trucks. According to Felix, an employee of the private security company Estonian Securities, formerly deputy director of the Estonian Customs Committee, Igor Kristapovich, managed to eavesdrop and record a telephone conversation between the captain of the Estonia, Arvo Andersen, and a certain drug dealer named Yuri. Whether this is true or not, it is now impossible to find out. Some time later, Igor Krishtapovich was killed in the center of Tallinn. This crime remains unsolved. Captain Arvo Andersen allegedly sank along with his ship, taking the mystery of his death to the bottom. Although, according to Itogi, during the official video filming of the captain’s cabin, his body was not found there.

Will the secret of "Estonia" be revealed? Probably not anymore: according to some reports, a project is being prepared for the final burial of the ferry - after the solemn service, they intend to cover the ship with old tires, stones and firmly cement it at the bottom. Only one circumstance can prevent this: if new witnesses appear in the “Estonia” case. According to Itogi, the Swedish police have some kind of video footage showing the replacement captain of the Estonia, Pikht, who was officially declared dead. As one of the colleagues of the deceased Igor Krishtapovich told Itogi, the captain was seen and identified three times: a few hours after the tragedy - wet and wrapped in a blanket, a year later - in one of the bars in Hamburg, and most recently - at one of the resorts of the European Riviera. His wife is still confident that her husband is alive and does not mourn. Will Captain Pikht ever speak?

Alexander Zheglov

OPINION

Did the ferry sink drugs?

Oles Benyukh is a member of the board of the Union of Writers of Russia, the author of the bestseller “Strike of the Triad”, dedicated to the events surrounding the sinking of the ferry Estonia. While working on the book - the only work of fiction on this topic - he met with many witnesses. Among them were those , who was on the ferry that night, and those who took part in the rescue efforts and investigation of the disaster. Benyukh believes that the ferry was deliberately flooded. Here is what he told Itogi:

Regarding the death of the ferry, there are many different versions. First of all, it is customary to talk about the design shortcomings of the ferry itself. I do not accept this version, if only because the ferry was built by the Germans in 1980, that is, it was only 14 years old, and the Germans are far from the last shipbuilders. For 14 years the ferry plied the seas, and for the last 4 years it sailed three times a week on the route Tallinn - Stockholm - Tallinn. The route was worked out, everything was always fine, and suddenly design flaws appeared from somewhere. If they really existed, the disaster would have happened much earlier. It is also customary to say that the captain is supposedly to blame for the death of the ship. Arvo Andersen was one of the best captains of the Estonian fleet and never received any complaints about his service. They also claim that a very weak crew was selected for the ship, and besides most of she seemed to be intoxicated. But this is all just speculation.

Unfortunately, the most likely version, in my opinion, is the version about the deliberate sinking of the ship. According to some reports, about 500 kg of pure heroin was hidden in the trunks of three cars on board the ferry. And three more trucks contain about 50 tons of cobalt. There are very serious reasons to believe that along the entire route of the drug cargo (which is the route Singapore - Delhi - Moscow - Tallinn - Stockholm) the police, customs services, port and border services were purchased. The new route was laid out by the most terrible drug mafia in the world - the Hong Kong "triad". Allegedly, the Swedish police became aware of the arrival of the cargo, and in order to avoid failure, the couriers, who were in cahoots with the crew members, scuttled the ferry. It is possible that it could have been different. Allegedly, the arrival of a ferry with a large shipment of drugs became known to the main competitors of the “triad” - the Colombian drug mafia, and they did everything possible to prevent the cargo from reaching Stockholm. And the strangest thing, perhaps, is that some time after the disaster, several members of the crew, including the trainee captain, were seen alive outside Estonia, although they were officially listed as dead.

Ksenia Pankratova

On April 16, 2014, off the southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula, the South Korean ferry Sewol (Korean 세월, English Sewol), which was making regular trips between Incheon (a port at the mouth of the Han River) and Jeju Island, a popular holiday destination, crashed.

There were 476 people on board, including 325 high school students. All from one " high school”, from “one parallel” - pre-graduation classes who, in their last school summer, were supposed to go on a trip to Jejudo. As a rule, these are the only children in the family. Only 172 people were saved, and some of the bodies have not yet been found.

This story turns out to be very similar to Russian stories about disasters like the sinking of the river vessel "Bulgaria". And here I would like to say an unkind word both to those who argue that “such an amazing level of irresponsibility can only exist in Russia,” and to those in whose view the Republic of Korea is “a civilized democratic country inhabited by responsible and hard-working people, and such stories are impossible there "

Like other serious disasters, this tragedy resulted from several reasons. Individually, each of them is quite ordinary from a layman's point of view, but their combination led to the most serious maritime disaster in the history of Korea over the past 20 years.

Firstly, the ferry itself was old and worn out. He served in Japan for 18 years, and then in 2012 he was sold to Korea. According to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, such theoretically dilapidated vessels must undergo an annual inspection, based on the results of which a document on suitability is drawn up. However, it is clear that, like us, the preparation of such documents turns out to be a purely formal matter, and in 2013 the inspection did not reveal any violations.

Although today it is known that the ferry had problems with the steering, but in the end it was decided to repair it sometime later. The problems are not fatal, no one is going to make turns, so you can go on a flight.

A year before the tragedy, the ferry was further reconstructed - the number of cabins was increased and an entire floor was added, causing the weight of the ship to increase by 239 tons. After this, the navigators began to complain in writing about problems with stability - but they were ignored.

Secondly, the ferry was not operated by a team of the best level. Usually, of course, sailors are always “recruited by advertisement,” but the top team still consists of professionals. Here, fortunately, it was an internal flight, and the management also turned out to be freelancers. The captain is already well over 60, and if you look at the salary he received as a temporary hire, it is very easy to imagine a person living by the principle “You pretend to pay me, I pretend to work.” Let’s not forget that there is no state pension system in the Republic of Kazakhstan; it is being created only now.

Moreover, most of the team members turned out to be members of, let's say, a very specific pseudo-Christian cult called the Sect of Salvation, the views and characteristics of which could not but leave an additional imprint on the tragedy. In addition to the fact that believers worked for pennies, the dogmas of the sect said that its adherents had already been saved by God, which means they were free from sins and the pangs of conscience associated with them. From this it is very easy to conclude that in a critical situation you need to save yourself, and not someone else: such behavior will not be a sin, and why save those about whom it is not clear whether they are pleasing to the Lord.

Thirdly, the ferry was overloaded almost three times - 3,608 tons against the norm of 987. And not at the expense of passengers, of whom there were 476 out of 921 possible (although there were also enough “left” tickets and that is why from the very beginning there were problems with determining the real number of passengers), but because of containers with cargo. What exactly the cargo was is still not known to the general public, and there are many rumors about this. But what is more important is that the ferry is more vulnerable to overload than conventional ships. His center of gravity is higher, and therefore, during strong waves or sudden maneuvers, it is easier for him to lose his balance and roll over. In addition, it turned out that there were also “left” passengers who were not on the official lists.

Equally important is that the load was not secured. In fact, and this should be specifically monitored by the second mate, the containers had to be secured so that they would not move when pitching or listing. But, apparently, such safety measures seemed excessive to some. After all, this is a ferry moving along the coastline, and not a ship on the open sea.

Moreover, it later turned out that in addition to the overload, which in itself threatened the stability of the ferry, it had four times less ballast water necessary to stabilize the ship - 580 tons instead of the recommended 2,030. Reduced ballast was taken so that the load line (the one marked on the bow and means the load waterline) would not be hidden under water due to overload - otherwise the ship might simply not be released into the sea. Totally agree last year Due to such fraud, the ferry owner received $3 million in additional profit.

Fourthly, due to weather conditions, the ferry departed three hours later, and in order to catch up on time and get on schedule, it sailed at a higher speed, and also “cut a corner”, deviating from the standard route and going straight between the islands, in heavy fog and through an area considered dangerous. Moreover, at that moment there was a female assistant at the helm, whose navigation experience was insufficient to entrust her with the passage of such a section.

It is not known for certain what caused the disaster at 8.48 am. There are several versions, but so far none of them have been fully proven. Either the human factor failed, or an unexpected obstacle arose on the way of the ferry, or something broke in the steering. In any case, there are no reefs or underwater rocks directly in the disaster area.

It was also not confirmed that the cause of the disaster was the ship turning too sharply - after analyzing all the information from the satellite radar beacon that recorded the ship’s route, it turned out that the ferry did not make any unjustifiably sharp movements before the disaster. But at the moment of the turn, the entire ship lost electricity for 36 seconds.

Another version of the turn is due to the fact that in places very close to the changed route of the Sewol, the Coast Guard or the Navy conducted shooting. According to the map, it turns out to be back-to-back, and although the firing area is usually “covered” with a large margin, it can be assumed that the sounds of gunfire prompted an inexperienced person at the helm to react inadequately.

Be that as it may, when making a turn, the loose containers slid sharply to one side, which aggravated the roll. An emergency situation arose, but the schoolboy who was the first to send a message to the rescue service that the ferry was in distress was mistaken for a joker, and they did not respond immediately.

The captain and crew first tried to “save face”: suddenly, if we announced an evacuation, panic would begin, and then it would turn out that everything could be fixed. Therefore, it was announced over the loudspeaker that passengers should remain in their seats and put on life jackets. No more.

The same mistake, we note, was made by officials in the flooded Krymsk. When information arose that a wave could come to the city, and they were faced with a choice - to beat the bell, drive the townspeople out of their homes and risk losing face and reputation despite the fact that a catastrophe might not happen, or not to do anything serious in the hope that , which will cost. We chose the second one. It didn't work out.

Perhaps the captain was simply afraid to take responsibility. The same thing happened with Fukushima in Japan, when time was lost due to the fear of “losing face.” Moreover, when it turned out that the equipment brought there to eliminate the consequences of the accident had a different connector, and its plugs could not be inserted into sockets without adapters, it took a whole day before the command was given to cut off the plugs and connect the cables to the network directly.

It is unclear how long it took to understand that “we can’t do it ourselves.” The distress signal was sent only 18 minutes later. All this time, passengers were told that everything was fine, stay calm. There was no talk about the need to prepare for evacuation. Then the ship took on enough water and tilted heavily. I had to ask for help, but for some reason, instead of the nearest point on the island. Chindo, where she could have come from, they began to call Fr. Jeju, where the ferry was heading. Also, instead of the sea rescue service, they called the general rescue service, subordinate to the police. But while the request for help was forwarded through the authorities and it was determined who should respond to this call, precious time was lost. From the subsequently published text of radio conversations between the ship's crew members and the coast guard, it follows that there was panic on board the ferry during the crash, and the crew members demonstrated an inability to make decisions in emergency and it’s normal to inform the Control Center in Jindo so that they can give sane advice.

At 9-14 the roll exceeded 50 degrees, and the order for passengers to remain seated became downright criminal. Wearing a life jacket is very difficult to move inside a capsized ship, which becomes a trap. It is no coincidence that Russian instructions do not recommend wearing life jackets indoors.

But the captain was concerned only with his own salvation and urgently left the ferry with the first rescue party, without canceling the order “not to leave the cabins,” which was constantly repeated over the loudspeaker. At the same time, he also took off his uniform and ran out in one underwear in order to impersonate a passenger - the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan strictly require that in the event of a disaster the captain should remain on board, and otherwise the rescuers could simply refuse to take him out. Two navigators and the chief engineer of the ferry also changed into civilian clothes and left the ship on life rafts.

These actions are documented on video taken by NCIS. There it is clearly visible that the passengers remained inside the ship, and the crew members got to the rescuers along a path known only to them, without even trying to throw the life rafts installed on the deck into the water. The rescue of passengers was carried out (and died) by those crew members who were not sailors - cooks, clerks, etc.

Even more scary video surfaced later - it was given to journalists by the father of one of the teenagers who died during the shipwreck, in whose pocket there was mobile phone. Judging by the recording, the passengers of the ferry realized that the ship was starting to sink, some panicked (one boy was looking and could not find life jackets, another - his younger brother), but all this time, over the loudspeaker, the crew urged everyone to stay in their places on the closed deck.

To top off the tragedy, of the 46 life rafts that should automatically fly out after the ship sank, only one flew into the water and opened - a sufficient illustration of how formal the reports about the ship's readiness for the voyage were.

Things weren’t going well with the assistance either. On the one hand, everyone who was nearby rushed to the rescue - the Navy, SBO, fishermen, helicopters, representatives of almost all relevant ministries and departments. They even brought in divers from the special forces (and so hastily that they were not allowed to properly equip themselves). On the other hand, each side created its own operation headquarters, which led to organizational confusion and bureaucratic games with shifting responsibility onto each other. A large number of The ships were more likely to interfere with each other.

Along the way, it turned out that the special rescue ship "Tongyong" was built more than a year and a half ago, but has not yet been put into operation (some equipment does not yet meet the requirements of the Navy); that the marine police officers ignored the order to completely evacuate passengers from the sinking ship and did not try to get inside it; that out of more than 600 rescuers at the scene of the tragedy, there were only 15 divers capable of doing something.

The entire disaster process took 2 hours and 20 minutes. This is not ‘Bulgaria’, which went on board and sank to the bottom in the shortest possible time because of the portholes just below the waterline. The timing was tragic - the last message on the free communication service KakaoTalk from the deceased schoolboy was received 50 minutes after rescuers arrived at the ship.

Those who were in the water were picked up quickly enough. But the military vessels, which had equipment with which it was possible to reach those who remained inside the ship, seemed to be at that time in military exercises dedicated to the inter-Korean problem - far from this place, and anti-North Korean military exercises, of course, more important than saving some ferry.

As a result, those who were saved were mainly those who were either on the upper deck and were able to immediately jump into the water, or those who violated the order and left the cabins. The latter is evident from the gender statistics of deaths. 7-9 boys from each class survived, 1-2 girls (they are more obedient). The rest faced death, because in water with a temperature of 12-13 degrees, even in a vest, you can survive for two hours, and then death occurs from hypothermia.

Among the dead was a schoolboy who was the first to raise the alarm, and Russian citizen Vladislav Serkov. But 22 of the 29 crew members survived, including all 15 responsible for the actual management of the ship.

It is alleged that the ship's owners initially demanded that the salvage work be carried out by divers from an affiliated private firm, rather than by more trained government rescuers. This gave rise to rumors that it was not people who were being saved, but the secret contents of the containers.

It is alleged that as soon as the case became public, the authorities began to force divers to dive, although due to weather conditions and the peculiarities of the currents at the site of the accident, they still could not do anything. However, the families of the victims, journalists and public opinion should have received evidence active work authorities, and the “imitation of vigorous activity” was in full swing.

Unfortunately, the first days turned out to be fatal. The “window of opportunity” was closed rather for objective reasons, and the rescuers were unable to get inside for purely technical reasons, which is why no one else could be saved.

Naturally, every disaster is surrounded by rumors, including conspiracy theories. Some young pranksters sent out text messages as if on behalf of schoolchildren who were inside the ferry and were still alive. There was a rumor that the ferry swerved to avoid a collision with an American submarine, and the authorities are hiding it. Some rumors simply repeated one to one Russian rumors spread on the Internet after our disasters.

On the other hand, there were other deaths - the deputy director of the school where the children who died on the ferry studied committed suicide. He was on the ferry and was rescued, but the next day he hanged himself, leaving the following note:

– Living alone when two hundred will no longer see this world is too much for me. Family, school, students, bosses, parents of students - forgive me, everyone. Don't blame others. All the blame is on me. After all, I was the one who organized the graduation trip. Please burn my body and scatter the ashes where the ship sank. Perhaps, in the afterlife, I will again become a teacher for children whose bodies will not be found.

To summarize, in terms of impact on the society of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the death of children had an effect comparable not to “Bulgaria” or “Kursk”, but to Chernobyl or Beslan, causing a very strong reaction from both society and the authorities. At the same time, the analysis of the disaster that happened with the ferry clearly reveals a number of errors and systemic miscalculations characteristic of the internal situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan. How exactly the government and society reacted and how much this story will affect South Korean politics will be covered in our next materials.

Konstantin Asmolov, candidate of historical sciences, leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, especially for the Internet magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

On the night of September 28, 1994, Europe's largest shipwreck in peacetime occurred.

Black day in Tallinn

On the night of September 27-28, 1994, a tragedy occurred in the Baltic Sea, which was destined to become the last maritime mystery of the outgoing millennium. A mystery that has not been solved to this day.

On September 27, 1994 at 19:15 local time, the ferry Estonia left the port of Tallinn, carrying 989 passengers and crew members. The ferry was making a flight from Tallinn to Stockholm that had already become familiar by that time.

Despite the fact that the weather was bad and there was a storm at sea, neither those who remained on the shore nor those who sailed on board the ferry felt any anxiety. For a ship like the Estonia, the Baltic storm, it was believed, could not pose any threat.

At 1:30 a.m., Estonia sent a brief distress signal and soon after disappeared from radar.

The morning broadcasts of Estonian television channels plunged the country into shock: the ferry Estonia was lost and there were numerous casualties.

As eyewitnesses recall, that morning, confused, depressed Tallinn residents walked to the port, to the pier from which the Estonia left for its last voyage. They stood and looked at the sea, as if they hoped that the Baltic would return the ship and people...

Regular flight

The ferry Estonia was built in 1979 at the West German shipyard Meyer Werft in the city of Papenburg by order of the Finnish company Viking Line. The ship, named Viking Sally, operated on the line Turku - Mariehamn - Stockholm. The ship went through several owners and Baltic routes until it was acquired by the Swedish-Estonian joint venture Estline in January 1993 to operate a ferry service between Tallinn and Stockholm. After this, the ferry received its last name - “Estonia”.

No serious incidents were recorded during Estonia flights until September 27, 1994.

And this time by 23:00 the ferry had safely covered 350 km of the route. The storm intensified, the ship was rocking, but the situation did not cause any concern. The passengers went to bed peacefully.

Around midnight, the Estonia met with the ferry Mariella, owned by the Viking Line company, which was heading in the opposite direction. The Maerilla noticed that the Estonia was moving at high speed, but this circumstance in itself did not pose a threat to the ship.

Nightmare

All the more unexpected was the distress signal received from the Estonia just an hour and a half later. It followed that the ship had a dangerous list, and the crew used a siren to wake up passengers.

Not only the Mariella, but also several other ferries from Helsinki to Stockholm immediately headed to the disaster site.

The sailors saw a terrible picture: half-dressed, deathly frightened, frozen people could hardly stay on rafts in a cold, stormy sea. Passenger ferries are not the best vessels for carrying out rescue operations, especially in stormy conditions, so it was not possible to lift everyone who was on the surface from the water.

At about three o'clock in the morning, helicopters of Finnish and Swedish military and rescue workers arrived at the site of the death of the Estonia and began to pull out of the water those whom the ferries could not help.

For some, help came too late - even people pulled from the water died from hypothermia on board ships and helicopters.

In total, 137 people were saved, and another 95 were officially identified as dead. 757 people were declared missing.

It's all in the visor

The sinking of the ferry Estonia turned out to be the largest shipwreck in Europe that occurred in peacetime.

What caused the tragedy?

The official commission of inquiry, composed of experts from Finland, Sweden and Estonia, came to the conclusion that the Estonia was destroyed by the bow visor - the surface part of the ferry, which rises to accept cars and other cargo on board the ship.

According to the commission members, on the Estonia, built in 1979, the technical requirements for the safety and reliability of the nose visor did not meet more modern requirements.

In conditions of a strong storm and at the high speed of the Estonia, its visor could not withstand the impacts of oncoming waves, which led to its failure. After this, storm waves began to overwhelm cargo compartment. Within a few minutes this caused an increasing list to starboard.

When the crew realized the danger of what was happening and sent a distress signal, it was already too late - the ship lay on the starboard side, and a few minutes later sank to the bottom. "Estonia" died in just half an hour.

When the commission’s findings became known, bow visors were welded tightly on all ferries of identical design to avoid a repeat of the disaster.

German shipbuilders, who were essentially blamed for the disaster, did not agree with the conclusions. After conducting their own investigation, they stated that the Estonia's nose visor was designed for much more serious loads, and its failure could only be the result of a deliberate explosion.

However, no evidence of an explosion on board the Estonia was presented.

Was the crew involved in drug smuggling?

If German shipbuilders, speaking about a possible explosion, do not name those who could be behind it, then other alternative versions are much more detailed.

All of them are in one way or another connected with a certain cargo that Estonia was transporting.

Some researchers claim that just before the ferry departed for its last voyage, two trucks drove on board without customs inspection. What kind of cargo was in them remains unknown.

According to one of the most popular versions, Estonia was used for drug smuggling. Allegedly, on its last voyage, the ferry was carrying another shipment, but the crew learned that the police were already waiting for them in Stockholm. Then the crew members involved in smuggling decided to open the nose visor and throw the cargo into the sea. Having completed their plan, they, however, failed to close the visor, as a result of which the ship filled with water, lay on its side and sank.

Marine experts, however, do not believe in this possibility. Such a step in a storm was tantamount to suicide, and the captain could not help but understand this. A Swedish prison is in any case better than the inhospitable bottom of the Baltic.

Several other versions boil down to the fact that weapons that previously belonged to the Soviet Union were carried on board the Estonia.

This possibility was indirectly confirmed by one of the managers customs authorities Sweden Sven Peter Olsson, who later admitted that in 1994, customs did have an agreement with the Swedish army, according to which in the port of Stockholm they did not check vehicles loaded with electronics purchased from Russian army and delivered from Tallinn on the passenger ferry "Estonia".

True, in 2005, the Swedish government published the report of the investigative commission, which stated that there was no military cargo on the Estonia on the day of the disaster.

Supporters of the version about weapons on board the Estonia are divided into several groups. The first believe that some secret Soviet weapons were exported on the Estonia, the leakage of which to the West could not be allowed by the Russian special services, who carried out sabotage on board. The latter are confident that sabotage on board the Estonia was the work of Western intelligence services, who were under threat of exposure of their weapons operations former USSR and decided to literally “hide the ends in the water.”

Why didn't they raise the sunken ferry?

Adherents of the most radical version of the death of the Estonia are convinced that radioactive materials, possibly even components of nuclear weapons, were transported on board.

And, oddly enough, this version has indirect confirmation. The fact is that the lost ship, according to an international agreement, was sealed at the bottom with a concrete sarcophagus, and the waters around it are a restricted zone, controlled by the Finnish Navy.

Those who do not agree with the official version of the death of the Estonia draw attention to the fact that the authorities categorically refused to attempt to raise the ferry, despite the fact that it does not lie at the most extreme depth - 83 meters.

However, in 1995 there was an Estonian-Finnish-Swedish agreement prohibiting any work in the area where the ferry "Estonia" sank. Russia, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the UK also joined this agreement.

Officially, this was done out of respect for the memory of the victims. Opponents say that there is an international conspiracy of silence around “Estonia”, the purpose of which is to conceal the true causes of the tragedy.

Case closed, questions remain

There are indeed more than enough oddities in the case of the sinking of the ferry Estonia. Thus, the lists of found and rescued passengers and crew members were corrected, and people who seemed to have already been found and rescued disappeared again. For example, the second captain of the ship Avo Pikht first appeared and then disappeared from the list of survivors. Everything would be fine, you never know how many mistakes happen in such a situation, but the fact is that there is a video recording made during the delivery of the rescued to the port. In the ambulance, television journalists captured a man very similar to Captain Pikht. Where did he disappear to then? And there were several such seemingly surviving and then missing members of the Estonia crew.

In early 2009, the Estonian government dissolved the commission investigating the causes of the disaster after the publication of its fourth report. The conclusions of this report were no different from those made earlier - the most likely cause of the death of the ferry was its design flaws and severe weather conditions.

At this point, the official investigation into the disaster was finally closed.

And answers to all the questions of doubters will obviously never be received.

On the night of September 28, 1994, the sea passenger ferry Estonia crashed in the Baltic Sea. This tragedy is considered one of the largest maritime disasters and one of the most terrible secrets XX century. There were 989 passengers and crew members on board the Estonia. The ferry took 852 human lives with it to the bottom, 757 people were never found, 95 were identified as dead, 137 were rescued.

On the eve of the tragedy

The Baltic at the end of September 1994 was particularly turbulent. There was a gale wind, its speed reached 20 meters per second, waves up to six meters high ran onto the shore, interfering with the mooring of small and medium-sized ships. The weather report, meanwhile, did not promise any improvement in weather conditions. The wind was getting stronger, the water temperature was no more than 10-11 °C.

And even such a powerful ferry as the Estonia, the height of a six-story building designed for 2 thousand passengers, felt noticeable resistance from the waves. He departed from the port of Tallinn on September 28 on his next voyage to the capital of Sweden, Stockholm. The fog thickened, hindering visibility. However, navigation in bad weather and high waves is a concern for the captain and crew of the ship. The passengers, who were in warm and cozy cabins, restaurants and bars, did not pay attention to the wind and waves. Some were still dancing and drinking, others (the vast majority) were getting ready for bed: it was approaching midnight.

"Estonia", which made flights to Stockholm three times a week, even with the wave height that was this time in the Baltic, did not slow down. And now she was traveling at a speed of approximately 30 knots per hour.

The hull of the ferry trembled a little; its removable bow, held in place by powerful locks, was under enormous pressure. Cars were located in two special holds located at the waterline level. The maximum capacity of the ferry is approximately 460 passenger cars or 52 trucks. When parked, they usually enter the holds through the raised bow. Very convenient: I arrived at the port in my own car, loaded it onto the ferry, and then moved into a comfortable cabin. Upon arrival at your destination port, get into your car and drive further in the direction you need.

Ferry facts

Nowadays, about 4,500 ships of this type are used in the world. True, they all have one common flaw - weak stability. High sides, superstructures where passengers are in the cabins, and huge (2-3 decks) empty holds, which are filled mostly with cars. They, of course, need to be thoroughly secured, because if, God forbid, the cars shift in the holds, this can be fraught with rather tragic consequences.

During the operation of ships of this class, 12 were wrecked precisely because of a shift in the center of gravity. This is a very high figure. 1987 - the ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in the port of Zeebrugge (Belgium). The icy waters of this disaster killed 134 people on a one-day pleasure trip. A few years later, the Jan Hevelius ship fell on its side in the North Sea near the German island of Rügen. Both capsized ferries had problems with their loading hatches. Sea water entered through the loosely closed locks and flooded the loading decks. The cars, which had fallen off their fastenings, rolled onto one side, creating a roll and this led to a capsize.

About the ferry "Estonia"

The ferry "Estonia" was built in 1980 at the German shipyard "Mayer Werft" in the city of Papenburg. The vessel met all international standards. To improve seaworthiness, it was updated several times; even hydrofoils were added. Then "Estonia" was equipped using the latest means automation and electronics, satellite communication devices. The crew was hired strictly by competition, and the crew was headed by a captain with 25 years of maritime experience - Arvo Andersen.

Fatal flight

This time there were 30 trucks, 2 buses and cars in its holds. There were still a few hours left before the ship arrived in Stockholm. Just enough time to sleep and get ready in the morning. On the upper deck, music was thundering in the bar, girls from the ballet ensemble, dressed in bright fancy dress costumes, were performing their dance program, men and women were sitting at tables drinking champagne.

However, the rolling became stronger and stronger, the ship was thrown from wave to wave with some incredible roar. The girls from the variety show lost their balance and fell to the floor, and the musicians barely managed to stay in their chairs. At about 12 o'clock at night, after apologizing to the public, the musicians decided to end the performance. Spectators and artists have already begun to leave the hall, intending to sleep and relax before arriving at the port.

But 852 people never made it to Stockholm, and they did not return to Tallinn. That September night, the ferry Estonia became an iron tomb for them, taking them to a depth of 90 meters.

Everything happened very quickly

The passengers were still climbing to the upper deck to their cabins when the strong waves apparently gave way to the fastening of the bow - the most vulnerable place of the ship, which experienced the greatest loads. A tilt has formed. Probably, there was already a gap in the bow and water entered the hold through it. Its level gradually increased and reached 50 cm, which exceeded all permissible standards. It was the water that got into the hold that began to create that very dangerous list. Poorly secured passenger cars and some trucks that were not secured at all, due to excessive rolling, moved and “floated.” Rolling over to the other side, they apparently added to the roll. A few minutes later, the list was already approaching 30°, and soon the bow of the ferry was completely torn off and icy water poured into the holds.

Experienced captain Arvo Andersen hoped to straighten the ferry. He gave the command not to slow down, and the ship plunged its nose even further into the water. Four turbines with a total power of almost 6 thousand horsepower continued to push the ferry forward, and water instantly filled all the cargo decks.

The roll increased very quickly. Soon water entered the engine room, a few minutes later the engines stopped, and then the emergency lighting turned off. There was complete darkness. The huge ferry rocked on the waves like a light sliver. In this situation, there was only one thing left to do - send an SOS signal and save people.

At 00:24 The branch of the Finnish shipping company on the island of Ute, located 100 km from the city of Turku, suddenly received alarming call signs: “We are in distress! Help!”, “We are flooded!”. The ferry Estonia, which was transmitting SOS signals, reported that all its machines suddenly stopped working and the power supply was cut off. This could only mean one thing: the ship had lost all ability to resist the waves and was becoming their prey. How long could it stay on the surface with a six-meter wave?

The distance to the crash site was approximately 35 km. Night, storm at sea... Where to send rescue ships? How to quickly come to the rescue? Nevertheless, the Finns immediately organized a rescue: coast guard vessels were sent to sea, helicopters were lifted into the sky. All ships then at sea were notified. A headquarters was established in Turku to receive the rescued.

The ships and helicopters that arrived at the site of the wreck of the ferry Estonia managed to pick up only 137 people and 42 frozen corpses.

For several days and nights, 12 ships and 5 helicopters searched the area in the hope of finding survivors. The ferry sank at a depth of approximately 90 meters, and no one else could be found in the waves. The divers, having carefully examined the severed bow of the vessel, proposed raising it to the surface. The Estonian captains also agreed with this.

Possible versions of death

Who is guilty?

1994, November 18 - the Finnish icebreaker Nordika lifted the severed bow of the ferry Estonia from the bottom. A group of specialists began studying it. They were immediately able to discover that both parts - the bow and the hull - were jammed, as a result of which the main lock (called the Atlantic) was non-functional. However, if the captain had not ordered to move at full speed, thereby allowing the waves to complete their destructive work, then much more could have been saved. more people- almost everyone. After all, according to everyone technical specifications In the event of an accident, the ferry could remain afloat for 5-6 hours. And as soon as the roll began, it became disastrous for him.

Official version of the tragedy

The official commission of inquiry, which was composed of experts from Finland, Sweden and Estonia, concluded that the ferry was destroyed by the bow visor - the surface part of the ship that rises to accept cars and other cargo on board.

According to experts, on the Estonia, built in 1979, the technical requirements for the safety and reliability of the nose visor did not meet more modern requirements.

In conditions of a strong storm and at high speed of the ferry, his visor could not withstand the impacts of oncoming waves, which led to his breakdown. After this, storm waves began to overwhelm the cargo bay. Within a few minutes this caused an increasing list to starboard. When the crew realized the danger of what was happening and gave an SOS signal, it was already too late - the ferry lay on the starboard side, and a few minutes later sank to the bottom. The ferry Estonia was lost in just half an hour.

Drug smuggling?

All versions are in one way or another connected with a certain cargo transported by ferry.

Some sources claim that just before the ship departed, two trucks drove on board without customs inspection. What kind of cargo could be in them remains a question.

According to one of the most popular versions, the ship was used for drug smuggling. Allegedly, the ferry was carrying another shipment on its last voyage, but the crew learned that the police were already waiting for them in Stockholm. Then the crew members involved in smuggling decided to open the nose visor and throw the cargo into the sea. Having completed their plan, they, however, were unable to close the visor, and as a result, the ferry filled with water, lay on its side and sank.

But marine experts do not believe in such a possibility. Such a step in stormy conditions was tantamount to suicide, and the captain could not help but realize this.

Several other versions boil down to the fact that the ship carried weapons that previously belonged to the USSR.

This possibility was indirectly confirmed by one of the heads of the Swedish customs authorities, Sven Peter Olsson, who later admitted that in 1994, customs actually had an agreement with the Swedish army, according to which, in the port of Stockholm, vehicles loaded with electronics purchased from the Russian army and delivered were not checked. from Tallinn on the passenger ferry "Estonia".

True, in 2005, the Swedish government published a report of an investigative commission, which stated that there was no military cargo on the Estonia on the day of the crash.

Why didn't they raise the sunken ferry?

Supporters of a more radical version of the death of the ferry Estonia are confident that radioactive materials, perhaps even components of nuclear weapons, were transported on board.

And, oddly enough, this version has indirect confirmation. The fact is that the sunken ferry, according to an international agreement, was sealed at the bottom with a concrete sarcophagus, and the waters around it are a restricted area, controlled by the Finnish Navy.

Those who disagree with the official version of the wreck of the ferry "Estonia" draw attention to the fact that the authorities categorically refuse attempts to raise the ship, despite the fact that it does not lie at the most extreme depth, approximately 83 meters.

Officially, this is done out of respect for the memory of the victims. Opponents say there is an international conspiracy of silence around “Estonia”, the purpose of which is to hide real reasons the disaster that occurred.

The wreck of the ferry "Estonia" - what are they hiding from us?

On the night of September 28, 1994, the sea passenger ferry Estonia crashed in the Baltic Sea. This tragedy is considered one of the largest maritime disasters and one of the most terrible secrets of the 20th century. There were 989 passengers and crew members on board the Estonia. The ferry took 852 human lives with it to the bottom, 757 people were never found, 95 were identified as dead, 137 were rescued.

On the eve of the tragedy

The hull of the ferry trembled a little; its removable bow, held in place by powerful locks, was under enormous pressure. Cars were located in two special holds located at the waterline level. The maximum capacity of the ferry is approximately 460 cars or 52 trucks. When parked, they usually enter the holds through the raised bow. Very convenient: I arrived at the port in my own car, loaded it onto the ferry, and then moved into a comfortable cabin. Upon arrival at your destination port, get into your car and drive further in the direction you need.

Ferry facts

About the ferry "Estonia"

The ferry "Estonia" was built in 1980 at the German shipyard "Mayer Werft" in the city of Papenburg. The vessel met all international standards. To improve seaworthiness, it was updated several times; even hydrofoils were added. Then “Estonia” was equipped with the latest automation and electronics, satellite communication devices. The crew was hired strictly by competition, and the crew was headed by a captain with 25 years of maritime experience - Arvo Andersen.

Fatal flight

But 852 people never made it to Stockholm, and they did not return to Tallinn. That September night, the ferry Estonia became an iron tomb for them, taking them to a depth of 90 meters.

Everything happened very quickly

The ships and helicopters that arrived at the site of the wreck of the ferry Estonia managed to pick up only 137 people and 42 frozen corpses.

Possible versions of death

Who is guilty?

1994, November 18 - the Finnish icebreaker Nordika lifted the severed bow of the ferry Estonia from the bottom. A group of specialists began studying it. They were immediately able to discover that both parts - the bow and the hull - were jammed, as a result of which the main lock (called the Atlantic) was non-functional. However, if the captain had not ordered to move at full speed, thereby allowing the waves to complete their destructive work, then many more people could have been saved - almost everyone. After all, according to all technical characteristics, the ferry could remain afloat for 5-6 hours in the event of an accident. And as soon as the roll began, it became disastrous for him.

Official version of the tragedy

According to experts, on the Estonia, built in 1979, the technical requirements for the safety and reliability of the nose visor did not meet more modern requirements.

Drug smuggling?

All versions are in one way or another connected with a certain cargo transported by ferry.

Some sources claim that just before the ship departed, two trucks drove on board without customs inspection. What kind of cargo could be in them remains a question.

But marine experts do not believe in such a possibility. Such a step in stormy conditions was tantamount to suicide, and the captain could not help but realize this.

Several other versions boil down to the fact that the ship carried weapons that previously belonged to the USSR.

True, in 2005, the Swedish government published a report of an investigative commission, which stated that there was no military cargo on the Estonia on the day of the crash.

Why didn't they raise the sunken ferry?

Supporters of a more radical version of the death of the ferry Estonia are confident that radioactive materials, perhaps even components of nuclear weapons, were transported on board.

Officially, this is done out of respect for the memory of the victims. Opponents say that there is an international conspiracy of silence around “Estonia”, the purpose of which is to hide the true causes of the disaster.