The damage to the starboard side of the wreck was caused by contact with the seabed. The report presents several conclusions based on marine investigations, interviews with survivors, technical reviews, and scientific calculations and numerical models carried out between 2021 and 2025.

The investigations show no signs that ESTONIA collided with another vessel or object during its final voyage. There are also no indications that an explosion occurred on board the vessel, nor any signs of an explosion on the starboard side or in the bow.

Examinations of the recovered bow ramp and the modelling of the collapse of the bow section show that the bow visor gave way under the force of the waves, causing the ramp to open and allowing water to flow onto the car deck. These conclusions are consistent with the findings of the JAIC from 1997.

The updated modelling supports the previously established scenario: rapid water ingress through the bow ramp led to the vessel capsizing and sinking. Alternative scenarios that have been proposed, including water ingress through damage to the starboard side, are incompatible with the calculations performed, witness testimony, and other collected evidence.

A joint assessment by the Swedish and Estonian authorities concludes that ESTONIA was not seaworthy due to uninspected - and therefore undetected - structural weaknesses, as well as undocumented exemptions in the certificates.

Based on the extensive material reviewed, together with new investigations and conducted interviews, the three national maritime authorities therefor conclude that ESTONIA sank because of the collapse of the bow structure, and that the newly identified damage to the starboard side occurred through contact with the seabed. There are therefore no grounds to initiate a new full-scale safety investigation into the accident involving ESTONIA.

© Shippax