Salvage of the bow ramp.
In July 2023 the bow ramp of MV Estonia was salvaged. The accessible parts of the car deck of the vessel were filmed.
In July 2023, further surveys of the vessel were carried out with the help of the Norwegian company Reach Subsea A/S. The surveys were carried out with two different underwater robots (ROVs).
With the help of a small ROV, the parts of the ship's cargo hold (car deck) that could be accessed were filmed. The footage will be analysed more closely and then made available to the public.
The bow ramp, which previously had detached from the ship, was salvaged. It has been transported to Estonia where it will be subject to further examinations.
Some of the metal near the damage in the ship's starboard side was sawed off and salvaged for further examination. A few more metal parts cut from the hull by divers in the 1990s were salvaged. An entire windowpane and parts of another window were salvaged. One of the bow ramp's two preventer cables was salvaged.
A drill sample was taken on the bedrock near the forward part of the damage on the starboard side of the vessel. Stockholm university initially assessed that the bedrock consists of granodiorite or granite. Closer analyzes of the drill sample indicate that it is gneiss.
Samples have been taken of the growth that is found mainly on broken surfaces in the ship's plate. These samples will be analysed in more detail by Stockholm university.
DIGITAL MODEL OF ESTONIA.
As part of the assessment of the new information about Estonia, a digital and a physical model have been created.
The purpose of the digital model of MS Estonia is to provide as accurate a general overview as possible of the ship's exterior and the structural and technical characteristics of the ship as it appeared on 27 September 1994.
The model was created in order to develop a physical model of Estonia and to demonstrate the ship during various surveys and in public contexts.
In accordance with an agreement between the prime ministers of Estonia, Finland and Sweden, a temporary Joint Accident Investigation Commission (JAIC) was formed to investigate the accident.
On September 28, 2020, footage was published showing a previously unknown hole in the ship's starboard side. The Estonian Safety Investigation Bureau therefore initiated a preliminary assessment of the new information and requested assistance from the corresponding authorities in Finland and Sweden.
The purpose of the preliminary assessment is to consider whether the new information gives reason to revise the conclusions drawn in the 1997 report, if new investigation measures should be taken and if so which ones.
For further information on the work on the preliminary assessment, Read more see here.
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