This morning at 6 o'clock the crew of the expedition organized by SA Mare Liberum gathered on the deck for a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Estonia ferry disaster, which sank in the Baltic Sea on that day 27 years ago.
The crew of the expedition honoured the memory of those killed in the Estonia disaster with a moment of silence
RS SENTINEL captain Jarosław Jacek Sarolej turned on the foghorn to honour the memory of those killed in the shipwreck, as he does every year in memory of the Polish ship MS Jan Heweliusz, which sank in 1993.
“It is our duty, the duty of society, to remember those who died and to support those who lost loved ones in the catastrophe. Likewise, it is our duty to seek answers to questions about what exactly led to the tragic sinking of Estoniathat very night 27 years ago,” said Margus Kurm, the head of SA Mare Liberum and the expedition.
The Estonia disaster is the shipwreck with the largest number of victims in peacetime on the Baltic Sea, as a result of which 852 people died and 137 people were rescued. Estonia sank on the night of 28 September 1994 between 0:55 and 2:03.
SA Mare Liberum launched a private expedition to the wreck of a ferry from the port of Eemshaven in the Netherlands on September 18 this year. The goal of the expedition is to find answers to questions that have still not been given by state investigations over the past 27 years.
The expedition reached the wreck site on Wednesday last week. During this time, the sunken ship and its surroundings were studied using multibeam sonar and underwater robots. Yesterday, a robot also entered deep into the car deck, where it discovered that two doors leading to the lower decks are intact and closed. In addition, underwater robots take thousands of pictures of Estonia in order to create a detailed 3D image using photogrammetric technology.
Materials gathered in the course of the investigation project will be analysed by dr. Andrzej Jasionowski, whose Singapore company SophusQuorum Pte. Ltd. specialises in expert examinations of sea accidents. Dr. Jasionowski has already dealt with topics concerning Estonia before – in 2005-2008 he was a member of the scientific consortium SSPA, which conducted a number of different studies regarding Estonia under the order of the Swedish government. Scientific analysis should be ready by next spring.
SA Mare Liberum is a fund that was founded in July this year upon an initiative of close relatives of survivors. The manager of the fund is Margus Kurm. The members of the council are Piret Kergandberg, Raivo Hellerma and Carl Eric Laantee Reintamm.
Information, pictures, and video gathered in the course of the expedition will be published on SA Mare Liberum website: www.mare-liberum.ee
Attached is a photo of a moment of silence that took place this morning. Author: Madis Veltman.
If you wish to arrange for an interview or have any additional questions, please, write to: estonia@agendapr.e