STOCKHOLM - The Estonia ferry disaster which cost 852 lives in 1994 was caused by poor maintenance, faulty loading and excessive speed, an expert group commissioned by the ship's German builders said yesterday.
"We are convinced the reason for the shipwreck is the extremely poor maintenance of the visor and ramp, its locks, hinges and sealings in combination with a faulty allocation of cargo and the too high speed under the prevailing and foreseen weather conditions," the lawyer who appointed the group said in a statement.
The roll on roll off ferry's bow visor snapped off in a Baltic storm in September 1994, and a protective ramp collapsed, sending thousands of tonnes of water on to the car deck. The German builders, Meyer Werft, set up the group in response to a preliminary report released by a three nation committee investigating the loss of the Estonia south west of Finland shortly after the accident.