(2017-0132-F) Estonia Ferry Disaster

The materials in FOIA 2017-0132-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. (See 2011-1036-F for records relating to the nation of Estonia). The car and passenger ferry MV Estonia sank in the northern Baltic Sea during the early morning hours of September 28th, 1994. Of the 989 people on board that night, only 137 survived. According to the official accident report, most of the 852 people who went down with the ship never had a chance to reach a lifeboat, as the nearly 16,000 ton passenger/cargo ferry sank very rapidly (perhaps in less than 10 or 20 minutes). The official accident report produced by the “Joint Accident Investigation Commission of Estonia, Finland and Sweden,”1 determined that the main cause of the accident was the locking device of the bow 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20010602144742/http://www.onnettomuustutkinta.fi/estonia/ visor and ramp used to on-load and offload trucks and cars failed. This failure allowed large amounts of water to enter the car deck forcing the ship to severely list to starboard. The list quickly worsened until the ship capsized and sank to the bottom trapping most of the passengers and crew. This collection consists of cables about the disaster, including offers from the FBI for victim identification services, condolences to the Swedish, and Estonian government authorities and news reports from Europe about the disaster. Also included in this collection are two emails concerning the routing and editing of a presidential condolence letter to the president of Estonia.