Baltic Ferry Disaster, 1994

[holloway]

Isn't it a very very very big coincidence that on board witnesses have stated that the bow doors had been ripped open and water was seen flooding in from below and at the same time the ship was holed by something else ? 

The hole could easily have been caused by the impact with the sea bed so I am led to understand ,easily dismissed by being 100% certain that the seabed is flat ?

Maybe a cover up for a truly unfit ship design but that isn't such a headline grabbing story ,it will be really interesting to see what evidence turns up .

 

 

[12gauge82]

I'm no conspiracy theorist but this time there's some very interesting questions to be asked. It's far from clear but looks very unlikely the official version is correct. 

[chrisjpainter]

5 minutes ago, holloway said:

Isn't it a very very very big coincidence that on board witnesses have stated that the bow doors had been ripped open and water was seen flooding in from below and at the same time the ship was holed by something else ? 

The hole could easily have been caused by the impact with the sea bed so I am led to understand ,easily dismissed by being 100% certain that the seabed is flat ?

Maybe a cover up for a truly unfit ship design but that isn't such a headline grabbing story ,it will be really interesting to see what evidence turns up .

 

 

It's possible...but the sea bed is clay there and relatively smooth. The film makers said they didn't see anything that could have caused such an impact. Also, a long by relatively narrow hole would make sense for something running against it with lateral momentum, rather than just a straight drop onto it as you'd get with a sinking ship. The ship was only 13 years old, so hardly a relic - some of the CalMac ferries are twice that age! 

5 minutes ago, 12gauge82 said:

I'm no conspiracy theorist but this time there's some very interesting questions to be asked. It's far from clear but looks very unlikely the official version is correct. 

Quite. It stinks a bit that the report made a connection between the bow coming off with the Estonia and the same thing happening to the Herald of Free Enterprise a few years before. Yes, both bows came off, but the HFE bow was never closed! The man who was meant to be shutting it was asleep in his cabin and it just set off with the door still open. Convenient design flaw scapegoat?

[holloway]

Well hopefully it will be a worthwhile and complete enquiry that gives the bereaved families the truth and some closure .

[wymberley]

1 hour ago, chrisjpainter said:

It's possible...but the sea bed is clay there and relatively smooth. The film makers said they didn't see anything that could have caused such an impact. Also, a long by relatively narrow hole would make sense for something running against it with lateral momentum, rather than just a straight drop onto it as you'd get with a sinking ship. The ship was only 13 years old, so hardly a relic - some of the CalMac ferries are twice that age! 

Quite. It stinks a bit that the report made a connection between the bow coming off with the Estonia and the same thing happening to the Herald of Free Enterprise a few years before. Yes, both bows came off, but the HFE bow was never closed! The man who was meant to be shutting it was asleep in his cabin and it just set off with the door still open. Convenient design flaw scapegoat?

Following the HFE my company was asked to have a look at the hydraulics for the design of a protective curtain which when not in use would have been stored in the deck. I came up with two options, one where the curtain would be raised as standard procedure and the other for emergency use. I left the company a little while later for a job closer to home and don't know the end result. I was a regular on the Zeebrugge to Felixstowe run back in the day but haven't been on a ferry to find out since.