PHOTOS AND VIDEO ⟩ Bow ramp of Estonia ferry recovered from seabed

A team conducting investigation works at the wreck of MV Estonia recovered the bow ramp of the ferry from the seabed early in the morning on Tuesday.

The bow ramp will be brought to Paldiski South Harbor, Estonia, aboard the research vessel Viking Reach.

Viking Reach started its journey from the location of the ferry Estonia's wreck towards Paldiski early on Tuesday morning. The ship will arrive at Paldiski South Harbor approximately at 1 or 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Upon the arrival of Viking Reach at Paldiski South Harbor, the unloading of the bow ramp from the research vessel will begin.

The marine works were performed by the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority (SHK) and the Estonian Safety Investigation Bureau (OJK), facilitated by Finnish authorities in co-operation with the Norwegian company Reach Subsea as the main contractor.

Personnel from the Estonian and Swedish Safety Investigation Authorities were on board during the surveys. Also, two representatives of the survivors of the accident were present at the marine surveys -- Ants Madar from Estonia and Urban Lambertson from Sweden.

During the week of marine works, bedrock and fouling samples were acquired from near the hole in the starboard side of the hull. Cut-out pieces of the port side plating, which were cut out by divers in 1994 in order to examine the interior of the wreck, were recovered.

It was also possible to cut out and recover a steel sample from the damage of the starboard side and recover parts of a cabin window glass and seal. The car deck, including the visor and ramp control panel, located next to the car deck entrance, were inspected with an ROV. The hole of the starboard side was filmed with the ROV from outside the hull as well as from inside through the car deck.

The bow ramp of MV Estonia will at first be stored in a warehouse owned by a private company. The warehouse is located in the Raasiku rural municipality, Harju County, Estonia. In the future, the Estonian Ministry of Economy and Communications will find a suitable permanent location for the ramp.

The Estonia ferry sank on the night of Sept. 28, 1994, while traveling from Tallinn to Stockholm. 852 people died in the disaster and 137 were rescued.