MS Estonia - A modern disaster

The MS Estonia was a combined car and passenger ferry. Every day, hundreds of people travelled on it. Among the passengers were leisure travellers, weekly commuters and professional drivers. Besides the staff, hired musicians and artists were usually on board. The ship offered its passengers plenty of options for passing the time: shopping, restaurants and nightclubs, gambling, a pool and a sauna.

Many people who survived were in one of the bars and restaurants that were still open.  MS Estonia’s bow visor has been salvaged. This part of the ship has great significance for many people. It has also played an important role when investigating the accident. Today, the bow visor is part of the Maritime Museum´s collections.

The Estonia accident is the Baltic Sea’s worst peacetime disaster. There were people on board from 17 nations. Most of them came from Estonia and Sweden, but Finland was also hit hard. The close relations between the three countries make the loss of citizens a shared trauma. The sinking took place in international waters and several countries participated in the rescue effort. Estonia, Sweden and Finland established a joint commission of inquiry to investigate the accident.

Only a few years earlier, Estonia had regained its independence after being occupied by the Soviet Union since World War II. Ferry traffic was on the rise and was becoming economically vital as well as symbolic. People who had been separated by war and occupation had greater possibilities to reunite.