I remember this as a 5 year old kid. I lived in a small village outside Stockholm. I head 800+ people died which is more than the village itself. I cried for days cause I thought every human died until my mother showed me a map of the planet and said there is people everywhere.
I remeber this accident from when i was a young man. It was especially devastating because only 4 years earlier a fire on board MS Scandinavian star cost 159 people their lives, these years were rough for Scandinavian passenger shipping...
That one was attempted insurance fraud. Scandinavian Star was barely legal, this was the first journey after some neck breaking deals and firefighters discovered at least three separate fires.
@@CapitalismSuxx I know, i have an aunt that travelled with Scandinavian star a few days before the fire, she said the ship was in complete disrepair, cabins were being constructed or refurbished while the ship was operating, hoses and extension cords were strewn in the isles and through where the fire doors should close in case of fire.
@@darraghmckenna9127 lol I travelled on that ferry in 1990 and THAT was a crusty, rusty, dusty wreck held together by glue and tape! I was terrified the entire trip and it's amazing it held together for three years afterwards! I find nothing weird in that sinking. Screws INSIDE the ferry, in our cabin, were rusted loose!
I remember this. I had just started first grade. A classmate of mine told the class his mom was supposed to have been on the ship but had missed it for some reason I don't recal.
Mate, you give the best recount of maritime events/disasters. I share your channel with as many captains and skippers as I can, in hope that if we cannot prevent these things from happening at least we can be more prepared when they do. Thank you
There is an audio recording from the first mayday call untill the first rescue ships arrive. From there you can really tell how fast everything happen. And the sound of surprise and terror in the voices of Europas and mariellas captains when they realise there is no more estonia.
Estonia is the one sinking that really, really freaks me out. Because it looks so much like ferries I've been on so many times over the years. Like, modern. Or at least, modern to me.
Yes, perhaps exactly that one too? Me too was on Viking Sally (Estonia's former name) several times in the 1980s. It was in better weather though, and with the usual Finnish/Swedish crew (and probably no military transports onboard).
@slowbasil Most newer ferries are built in a different way. Estonia had a bow visor that lifted up to open. This design puts a lot of stress on the points where the bow visor is attached to the hull because the waves crashing against the bow exerts force on the visor in the same direction it is opened. Most modern ferries that operate in rough seas and have bows that open have clam doors that opens sideways. This is a safer as the waves crashing against the bow pushes the doors against the hull. I get the impression that ferries are cancelled more often these days than they used to be. I'm Norwegian and don't read Swedish newspapers on a daily basis, but I read the Norwegian ones every day. There is hardly a month between September and April where I don't see the ferries that goes between Norway and Denmark are cancelled or delayed because of the weather.
I worked, several years later, onboard the Rocky Giant from van Oord ACZ, that was contracted to cover the wreckage by Smit, whom was the main contractor. We laid special mats and dumped rocks on them, around the Estonia to “stabilise” the seabed for the concrete mats that would cover her. The first time we were there we had to do a survey with our ROV and when it “flew” over the wreckage it got eerily quiet on the bridge. Everyone understood how many people lost their lives and how many people were still down there in the wreckage. That was a moment I’ll never forget. We finished our part of the plan to make her into a Seaman’s grave, but they cancelled it after many protests from the victims families.
@@derektaylor2941 They wanted to make it a “Seamans” grave. The reason that they wanted it covered by concrete mats was because Russian Navy ships were constantly near the spot where it sank. Also there was a rich guy who hired an ROV vessel to find his wife’s body and wanted to retrieve her with divers once he found her. So the Swedish government decided to cover it so no one could disturb the wreckage and, most importantly, the bodies of the deceased. They were afraid that people would dive to the wreckage to retrieve valuables from the trucks and the deceased.
@@erikgoossens1 it is unusual though, compared to other ship wrecks. Whilst I make no judgement either way, I can understand why the conspiracy theorists believe there is something inside the ship that they want to remain there. Thanks for explanation.
Fun fact: The murder that took place on Estonia (then called Viking Sally) is among the most famous murder mysteries in Finland and has never been solved.
Wow got a sense of deja vu last summer also in july i was on a ferry from turku finland also to germany and me and my brother slept on the top deck of the ferry pretty wild, sad what happened to them
In denmark we had a man named Herman Himle who was on that ferry back in the day (under a different name) was he actually guilty. He appear to be that person that has a lot to say & if it annoys the authorities then he will be happy to say it. If he actually committed then why was he acquitted in finnish court? He has been throwing a lot around since that appears to be nutts & bolts, but one said: he claimed he did IT. A lot of words in the documentary doesnt make sense & i highly doubt his words as he is full of hot air...
No fricken mystery, if Estonia was used by Americans to transport Russian military hardware from Baltic States. I guess someone grom KGB had enough and sank Estonia.
Very well explained on this tragedy. I remember crossing the ‘Little Minch’ in the early 90s when i was a kid! I remember looking at the massive storm waves from inside our ship and thinking the sea will swallow us whole if we have a problem no one will have time to do anything. It was a terrifying experience.
How refreshing to see a video that not only has presented the facts correctly, but is not sensationalist and as a bonus, presented by a real person and not an irritating AI voice. I can only imagine what it's like for those on a sinking ship. I was once 'lucky' enough to participate in an emergency crew simulation of an evacuation- ironically from Mariella's sister, Olympia. On the upper decks with great windows and plenty of doors leading out to the lifeboats, it's not so bad. But imagine being down in the bowels, with the lights switched off, the emergency lights deliberately deactivated, using only torches and the corridors full of dry ice to simulate smoke and you understand how they really pushed up training post Estonia. Oh and of course, we were in port with the deck level and not listing nor tossing about on the open seas.
Great video, however I do have one comment. Regarding the rescue helicopters you called them Super Puma and Agusta Bell as if they were the names of the helicopters themselves, however the Eurocopter/Airbus Super Puma is a model of helicopter that was used in the rescue effort, and Agusta Bell is the manufacturer of the european variant of the Bell 412, which is a different model of helicopter also used in the rescue. Again, fantastic video, I just wanted to add a minor correction to a detail I missed.
Great information I'm sure the survivors floating in the water were concerned about the correct name of the helicopters that were coming to try and save them wow are you just being smart I'm amazed that you're brilliance of British aircraft you should be up aircraft designer better yet you should be someone that names their crafts😂
@@driverslqqk7940 dude shut up, caring about details isn't a bad thing. It's the kinda thing that woulda kept the ship from f***ing sinking in the first place lmao
I went on this ferry when she was Sally the Viking, it really was upsetting to think about her sinking and the tragic loss is so many lives, we had really enjoyed our trip over to France and back, made you realise how fleeting everything really is.
I was on an overnight ferry the other day and guys in the bar were talking about this. Being Ex Navy, I had my evacuation route planned, even in the event of a capsize! Stand by!
Hearing about the EPIRB made me instantly think of the El Faro. I don't believe you've made a video about it, but you should definitely add that to your list of "to dos"
@@waterlinestories I also cannot wait! I read a riveting piece from William Langewiesche on El Faro which was my gateway into this subject. Can't wait to see how you cover it!
Very nicely done. I am Norwegian. This catastrophe of a disaster shook me and all of my region to the core. A lot of people aren’t even aware of this disaster many places In other areas of the world. The horror these passengers went through is unbearable to think about. I had nightmares about the sinking of Estonia throughout the winter of 94/95. We lost a lot of people.
@@farfaraway4285 ah yes, the old “fell into the lifeboat” guy. And didn’t he change into civilian clothing before “falling into the lifeboat” or am I confusing coward captains?
It amazes me that there are not more RoRo ferry incidents considering I have read all it takes is an inch of water on an open vehicle deck to doom a ship. There would be nothing more terrifying than being trapped in a capsized ship with no light.
one reason is that after this incident, atleast in the nordic countries and estonia, they welded the front shut, and only use the back to load trucks and cars now.
Like Estonia, most accidents do not occur due to a single event, but many. Even an inch of water on the car deck won't automatically sink the ship. One inch of water on a RoRo 575 ft long, 100ft wide (about the Estonia or a Mariella class size) is about 130 tons of water. On a calm day with little movement, you'd not even notice that in the handling of the ship. Even on a violent sea, 130 tons is not going to capsize the ship- that's going to make it handle about the same as a badly loaded deck with 3 lorries on one side... With a ship weighing 37,500 tons (as with Mariella- don't know about Estonia) you won't sink from that. In any case there are drains all over the deck- named scuppers- which will either drain straight to the side or will have active pumps which switch on when detecting water. A clearer example of multiple events leading to a RoRo sinking is MV Herald of Free Enterprise... there were so many failures that happened and if only one failure had been detected and prevented then it would never have capsized- same with Estonia, perhaps (HOFE: bow door open, bow trim tanks flooded to match the linkspan, shallow water, increased speed, turning to port... take away any one of those and accident avoided). Re being trapped: I took part in a crew training event on Olympia (sister to Mariella, though just changed fleet) right after Estonia. When you're down on the lower decks, below water, with the power off, using torches because they even deactivated the emergency lights, with dry ice to simulate smoke and trying to get up to the top decks... that was not pleasant and that was in port and not on a ship in a storm. HTH.
I grew up hearing stories and seeing reports of disasters like this, Herald of Free Enterprise etc and every time I go on a ferry now I’m always paying attention to lifeboat stations, lifejacket locations and am looking to get seated as close to a way out as possible. What a terrible disaster, and completely avoidable, this was.
this channel is doing God s work, people take many things for granted, no way I am sleeping or below deck in any ship for any period of time lol and will do a reconnaissance tour of everything like you said, and all thanks to what I ve seen here
Loving your channel. I keep coming back for these interesting accounts. Coming from South Africa, I wanted to just recommend looking into the history of South African maritime incidents/accidents sometime. You'll find such interesting stories. The collision of the SAS Tafelberg and Kruger was quite a major tragedy and the survivor stories are quite harrowing.
Very well made video. I've listened to the full radio broadcast of the mayday messages. It's very tough to hear. You can hear alarms blaring and all sorts of things falling as the Estonia lists when Tammes speaks. It's very likely that the ship was 60-70 degrees by the time he gave the position.
I love your commentary. And have become quite fascinated with every one of these stories. Extremely well done. Great presentations. Very sound analysis coupled with compassion for the victims.
Worth noting is that the Estonia was owned by Estonia and Sweden at the time of the disaster, and the footage shown in the video was filmed from a Boeing Vertol helicopter from the Swedish Air Force. Eight helicopters from Sweden participated in the rescue operation and saved many lives. The full footage can be seen on the Swedish Armed Forces TH-cam channel.
Ex US Navy fireman here. I'm trained in shipboard emergencies. Specifically for firefighting, flooding, fuel spills, ruptured pipes, chemical/biological/radioactive contamination/containment/removal. I was also a certified rescue swimmer. We trained constantly for personnel overboard operations, fires, flooding, abandon ship, chemical/biological/nuclear contamination and cleansing. Civilian operations never do this to any significant level and their passengers are also never properly trained or prepared for any types of disaster. If you've ever been on a cruise ship you know what I'm talking about. The civilian sector doesn't want their passengers to know just how dangerous travel aboard ship is so they deliberately avoid any types of training that could actually save lives. They also won't hire people like me and pay us what we're worth based on our military training and qualifications. I worked for a short time in the offshore oil industry aboard a crew transport vessel and I was only paid $60 a day for working 10 hours per day 7 days a week and living onboard and on call 24 hours per day for 6 weeks at a time. My next job as a fully qualified industrial painter paid $120 per day for 8 hour work days. Edit: This was back in 1988.
Well, that sucks. I get paid just as much with good health, and I don't even have close to the certifications and responsibilities that you have. My home and family is less than 5 mins. away. I literally put part in machine press button remove and repeat.
@@imchris5000 To save lives? Properly inspect the vessel before, during and after the trip? To actually organize a proper evacuation? To minimize damage by initiation of proper safety protocols and securing the damaged area to prevent spreading? 🤷
My now wife was on the Marielle that night. They spent all night and most of the next day searching for survivors but mostly it was dead bodies that they saw floating in the sea. She doesn’t talk about it much even to me so I won’t tell her that I saw this
I had a land based experience I wrote about in the comments, in case you might want to read it: I remember this so vividly and clear as that morning I had an appointment with dentist in university hospital of Turku, building was pretty large and round so that over hundred of those dentist chairs, each with a station for air tools, water and equipment were placed on the 2 second floor around the large open round floor (free dental healthcare for school kids by university dentistry students and supervised by DDS's & DMD's = win win) and I had a seat right in front of the huge window looking directly over to the helipad of the hospital and I watched for well over a hour as helicopters landed bringing in survivors and body bags. During that time I only saw a few survivors being brought in and so many black bodybags. Next to the helipad was a pile of discarded orange life vests taken from the survivors and perished alike painting a somber autumnal scene with leafless trees, storm winds and raining sideways, can't even imagine the weather at the accident site at sea! And it sure as hell didn't ease my anxiety at all that my mouth was full of dental equipment as my teeth and orthodontic apparatus was being worked at the same time 😅that had a huge impact on my 14 year old mind and as I said, I still vividly remember how it played out at the one end. *_MAY ALL THE VICTIMS OF M/S ESTONIA REST IN PEACE_*
Get her a nice hot chocolate and a non expectation back rub, with her fave snack. Ask her how she is and just listen to her. Ask if she needs anything and if everything is okay, that no matter what she says you are on her team, her back up, always. If she has nothing important to talk about that's fine too. . Do this every three months. Tell her you will do this every three months. Let her know that you understand sometimes it's hard to talk about things, wants , needs , expectations , the past and even dreams for the future and as you grow together those may change in the best and most beautiful ways and you want to be in her corner what ever she needs. My husband did this before he died. It helped my PTSD. I didn't speak about anything for months then suddenly I told him everything. And we were stronger than anything. Establishing a safe place was needed for me. Maybe she needs the same. I wish you and your wife the best. I was able to get help after. I was in a bombing where I was one of three survivors, a little girl died in my arms. Survival guilt, bodies everywhere and the smell. It's hard to deal with.
They extracted the bow visor in order to examine it ashore, and it sat for a long while at a dock that was visible from the motorway through Stockholm. I remember seeing it there many times, it was kinda eerie.
One thing more what report pointed out. Estonia or Viking Sally how it was first named, was designed sailing coastal waters not open, and the locking systems were desinged accordingly. Report speculates, that it might have contributed to material fatique. The report also states of overall bad maintenance of the vessel.
The Estonia sinking was a national tragedy in three countries: Estonia, the flag country of the vessel; Sweden, since over half of the victims were Swedes, and Finland, since it was the lead country in the rescue effort. In Finland the early 90's were a grim time to begin with, due to the Depression, and the Estonia disaster felt like a culmination of that whole era.
I hope none of the failure to just say, "mayday" wasn't hinged upon ego or pride? A ship listing over at 15 degrees is significant & is a mayday condition. I've seen a ship where furniture & large vending machines were cascading across the floor like pool balls, careening off each other & the walls. IT's a terrifying event when things inside a ship are tossed like nothing and I can not fathom the levels of fear these folks must've endured. RIP...... WoW, thanks for the story.
I remember this so vividly and clear as that morning I had an appointment with dentist in university hospital of Turku, building was pretty large and round so that over hundred of those dentist chairs, each with a station for air tools, water and equipment were placed on the 2 second floor around the large open round floor (free dental healthcare for school kids by university dentistry students and supervised by DDS's & DMD's = win win) and I had a seat right in front of the huge window looking directly over to the helipad of the hospital and I watched for well over a hour as helicopters landed bringing in survivors and body bags. During that time I only saw a few survivors being brought in and so many black bodybags. Next to the helipad was a pile of discarded orange life vests taken from the survivors and perished alike painting a somber autumnal scene with leafless trees, storm winds and raining sideways, can't even imagine the weather at the accident site at sea! And it sure as hell didn't ease my anxiety at all that my mouth was full of dental equipment as my teeth and orthodontic apparatus was being worked at the same time 😅that had a huge impact on my 14 year old mind and as I said, I still vividly remember how it played out at the one end. *_MAY ALL THE VICTIMS OF M/S ESTONIA REST IN PEACE_*
The sinking of the Estonia is perhaps the news story that left the most lasting impression on me from my childhood. By that time, I had already traveled extensively on similar ships, so the accident felt close to home. One of the most chilling details related to the accident comes from the accounts of survivors who climbed onto the side of the ship. When the vessel had tipped to a 90-degree angle, some survivors were walking on the ship's side, trying to reach one of the remaining lifeboats or any object that was floating. They had to walk carefully and watch their step to avoid slipping, tripping on something uneven, or-God forbid-falling back into the ship through some random opening. At the same time, however, they tried not to look into the cabin windows, behind which were people eternally trapped in the sinking ship, out of their minds with fear, jumping, screaming, and pounding on the windows. Those walking on the side of the ship could no longer do anything to help them. They could only try to avoid looking at the faces behind the windows, as the sight would surely have haunted the survivors for the rest of their lives.
Seeing news reports on TV just after this disaster, traumatized me for life and made me feel very uneasy about open seas and deep unknown waters. I was 9 years old when this disaster happened in 1994, and since I am Swedish, it hit close to home with such a disaster happening to a ship sailing to and from Sweden and where you or someone you know, could have been among the victims. But yeah, the helicopter footage from the rescue work and seeing the inflatable liferafts on the stormy sea, it marked me for life... Even today at age 38, I much prefer to stay on land or at least see land if I'm on a ship.
Same, but I was an “adult”, barely 18 and living in my first own home. Estonia happening right after Princess Diana’s death felt almost apocalyptic, I remember waking up to both, vividly. This was before internet, so quickest way to find news was text-tv, me & ex were glued to it, trying to find updates and checking all news broadcasts from all possible channels (I think we had 4 back then). Im a Finn and we traveled to Marienhamn in summer ‘95, it was hot & muggy July week, but I refused to go swimming.. all I could think was all the bodies, somewhere in that same dark water. I was melting, but I just couldnt make myself go into the water. On my first ferry trip to Stockholm after Estonia, I was super aware of every creak the ship made, I dont think I slept much at all. I cant even imagine how it mustve felt like as a child..
Dude, I worked on a Land Ship Logistic (LSL) with a flat bottom. We were told that with 3 inches of water on the tank deck, She would roll over in 22 seconds. Enjoy you kip .
@@vicross2569 Ramp is described in official report too. Not linked with visor. None of survivors described ramp open although almost all lower rank seamen who looked after the ramp survived.
@marguskiis7711 after reading into it, you're absolutely right. That hole that they discovered is insane, though it's interesting that the door is open now, whereas, in a previous dive, it was said to be closed.
I was 4. I came to kitchen for breakfast and the tv was on in the living room (which was quite uncommon in our family). Dad was watching the news. Estonia is the first major news story I remember. I'm a Finn.
I’m obviously no marine engineer or ship builder but I am a metal fabricator. The design to have the front of this ship open up seems really silly to me.. that should have been at the rear.. the pressures on the front crashing into waves would be massive
I think thats what the raising front section was supposed to function as, a way to keep pressure off the bulkhead of the loading port, but once that was gone like you said going at that speed in that weather its not suprizeing those hinges failed
For a hair-raising written account of the horrors the passengers faced that night, read William Langewiesche's piece in The Atlantic. The image that sticks was of the passengers frantically clambering along what was the wall of the corridor running the length of the ship, then suddenly encountering a dark abyss that was a corridor across the ship. They had no choice but to try and leap across it. Many didn't make it; some as their loved ones watched helplessly.
I live in Finland, I vividly remember watching the news in the morning after the disaster. Not my favorite memory. This video, however, is an excellent presentation of the accident. Thank you.
I'm Swedish. I didn't know it at the time but I lived in the city that was hit the hardest by the tragedy as about 100 of the people who were lost came from said city. For well over a month the only thing I heard downtown were the church bells tolling for the funeral services (most without a casket) day in and day out. It was a very somber sound. I remember waking up that morning. I always woke up to the prolonged radio news at 06.45 but this morning my brain was very slow to react, so I didn't really hear what they were talking about. Instead I reacted because usually they shifted news story after a minute or so, but this seemed to just be one very long, very serious story. After a quick shower I went out to the communal TV and switched on the TV where the news showed the helicopters evacuating people from the life rafts. I still couldn't grasp what had happened and just stared at the TV in silence. One after another my fellow dorm mates joined me on the sofa. Somehow we managed to cram 8 people in a sofa made for 3. No one said a word; we were all just staring at the TV, but then one of the guys began to cry. A situation where 8 adults sit on top of each other and just stare at the screen in total silence for about two hours in indeed a traumatizing event.
@@swedishmeatball4382 It is still a difficult topic to discuss for many and now that I'm much older I completely understand why. I have some friends in Sweden who lost someone that night. I hope you're doing alright.
Book by William Langewiesche has a section describing the sinking. It was pure Darwinian survival as the young and strong were able to climb out of the ship
@@something7239 Don't feel bad. Remember it as a lesson. TRUST NOTHING on the Internet until you've confirmed it yourself. Not photos. Not audio. Not words. Verify first... because the Internet is half truths incarnate.
@@dexio85Some are from Estonia but most of the video footage is from Concordia I believe. Its defo Estonia where the little red liferafts are being tossed about in the swell, filmed by a chopper. Pretty haunting video footage of those rafts, in some videos, about half of the people in the raft are dead. I remember theres a clip on Ytbe where a young, attractive, fit looking kid gets airlifted out of a raft, he survived, but the raft is partially filled with dead bodies just floating face down. The look on his face... Like a ghost. The fear of cold exemplified. I also recall a young fella saying he knew something was wrong, went to evacuate up the stairs, but his gf, mum & dad just froze at the entryway, he was carried up the stairs with the crowd & that was the last time he saw them, looking shell shocked & bewildered. Awful.
That this happened AFTER the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster was a shocker in Europe. I traveled on a Swedish Roro from Amsterdam to Newcastle last November through a huge North Sea Storm. I was extremely impressed at the professionalism and seamanship I saw the crew demonstrate.
First rate videos with high intellect and integrity. I have one question and that is with your introductions you appear to speak with no script or notes yet you perfectly relate what you have to say. Are you working from memory with your introductions or do you know enough in order to ad-lib. Best wishes Peter London UK
😂 I wish I were that good. I actually use a teleprompter. It’s the only way I could be as precise. Even then there’s a fair amount of editing out the garbled tongue twisters.
Thanks for your kind reply. I hope you continue with these excellent videos. Many of us enjoy vicarious excitement and adventure from your work but of course loss of life is sad but at sea anything can happen. These videos are far superior to the rest on You Tube and a cut above the American output. Best wishes in all you do. Peter Starr London UK
Thanks Peter. I actually lived in London for 15 years. My wife’s German so we moved to Germany after our son was born. Now we live in the middle of nowhere. Big change from London
I just can't believe that level of incompetence with even getting out a clear. Mayday. ... If you don't do anything at all during an emergency at least get that call out.. wouldn't a person be yelling "mayday mayday our ship is listing heavily, I don't know why but it's getting worse send help Mayday"
As he explains in the video, yes they WERE saying that. The problem was they weren't saying precise information about their exact coordinates because the GPS was at a crazy angle and nobody could get to it to read the position for awhile. And constant updates on exact condition depends on actually knowing the condition, which they probably didn't themselves.
They had a Total Blackout and were using a small Portable VHF system at the time Tammes was literally hanging in the reeling whilst another officer was desperately trying to get the reading from an old compass in the map room behind the bridge. On the black tapes from Mariella and Silja Europa you can hear them screaming to eachother the little information they can get in the pitchblack darkness. There was no incompetence here but complete horror and certain death for both of them. They chose to go down with the ship in a desperate attempt to get help. Almost all officers rest inside Estonia on the seafloor. Now Scandinavian Stars Captain was another story he is the closest we have to Schettiono in the Nordic ship disasters. Infact Stena Saga's captain and also the firefighters from Gothenburg and Stenungsund to if i remember correctly who had the horror of crawling through a ship on fire so hot that their special operations gear melted whilst they were trying to put out the flames, Has openly admitted that they had no trust in the man after he had lied to them about the crew and passengers who was still all over the burning ferry. They were infact even so angered by him and some of the officers onboard that they seriously thought about killing them with a fireaxe and tossing the bodies into the burning ship. The reason was that they was certain that the officers behaviours was not only hampering their efforts to save lives but also risking to kill the firefighters.
Constructive critisism: It should have at least been mentioned that the reasons and findings about the sinking are disputed. It could not be ruled out that weapons were smuggled, that it was sabotage, there maybe was a bomb threat aboard just before leaving habour, according to some sources. The swedish government wanted to completely cover the wreck in concrete as soon as possible and without consent swedish from nation and people involved ships dropped rubble over the wreck. @waterlinestories
7:48 why are there 2 pictures from Costa Concordia? Why are they not marked as such, even if they're used as representative of what the situation might have looked like? It would be somewhat understandable, but not clearly marking them is not okay, and quite frankly brings into question the research and accuracy of the entire video...
Does it, though? Lol. The ship sank while sailing, anyone with common sense would know that those were meant as reference material. Chill out man, this video was fantastic. Lol
More so ,, I’m terribly not going on a boat ,, ship ( any kind ) I’m have bad vertigo ,, found this out in the late 80s ,, sick was a understatement . 🤦♀️
@@b7uh Well, if time travel becomes reality and I travel back 30 years. I will not go on a cruise. Would not go on one now due to not wanting to be trapped on a box with all those people.
A very thorough report of this terrible, terrible tragedy. Plus useful reflection of what could/should have been done to make it much less fatal. Lessons were learned, but as in all these cases - too late. RIP those who perished and remain in the vessel on the sea bed.
And a very well told story, that did not go into all of the conspiracies that lingered around the sinking, with claims of forbidden weapons or drugs transported, being the reason the ship sunk (I seem to remember claims that someone onboard found out costums would raid the ship, so they opened the bow to dump some vehicles containing the illegal stuff, but did not disengage the locking pals before opening the gate, making the hydraulic cylinders force the hinges to break)
@@JohnDoe-bd5sz Yes, I heard and saw those other causes - on different documentaries. I think that what we saw here was the truth. I thought the analysis that we saw of how the tragedy could have been avoided (or greatly reduced) was very useful.
@@nigelh3253 I agree, no matter why the bow port fell off, the captain and his crew terribly mismanaged the situation. This accident reminds me a bit of the "MS Harold of free enterprice" disaster, there someone forgot to close the bow and they sailed until the ship was full of water and again...No camera's to see what was going on. Luckily, today the laws have changed and these kinds of disasters would be all but impossible.
@@JohnDoe-bd5sz Yes the Herald of Free Enterprise was another Ro-Ro ferry (roll on, roll off). Almost 200 lives lost. Crew had a very lazy attitude - the man who should have shut the bow doors was asleep in his cabin! But nobody else bothered to check the doors and close them. Presumably this would have only taken a few minutes. Things like closing the door should have been double checked and not just left to one idle crew member. A disgrace.
My classmates had friends and their families drowning in this disaster. There was a school trip from the neighbour county on that ship. I have tales about the govmt reaction to this. To be short: in the beginning everything was reasonable, but about 6mo into it, something changed. Things got WEEEE-IIII-RRRRRD and very VERY shady decisions were made. That's where the conspiracies started. I was only 17 at this time, but omg our govmt was doing really bad. Oh, I'm Swedish, forgot to mention. EDIT: Forgot to mention that just ask if anyone wants me to clarify things. I just wrote a short comment here on yt, but there is SO MUCH SHADYNESS from the Swedish govmt regarding this tragedy.
There were claims of weapons from Sweden's weapon industry being transported. Not sure why they would transport them TO Sweden though. I agree, something dodgy was going on....Did they ever go through with pouring cement onto the ship to make it impossible to enter
@@JohnDoe-bd5sz The rumours about weapons are somewhat true, it turned out. At the time, our govmt denied it, but a few years later it was "discovered" that Estonia among other ferries transported military materals to and from Estonia and the other Baltic states. The reason for transport TO Sweden was prob since the Baltics had a lot of Soviet weapons they wanted to get rid of, Sweden offered to transport some of this to maybe do research on. They never poured cement on the ship, they just covered it with gravel. THIS story is insanity defined. Our awesome neighbour Norway has EXTENSIVE experience in deep diving activities and considering Estonia is kind of shallow at 80m it is INCOMPREHENSIBLE that noone asked Norway for help!! At first the intention was to salvage the entire ship, but after those first 6mo that was reasonable, all THIS kind of shit suddenly appeared and this is where the conspiracies started.
@@johnnunn8688 because everybody knows conspiracies are not real. The rich and powerful are ABSOLUTELY NOT doing shady deals, ever. Not once in history! Brilliant and high IQ post brother!
@@johnnunn8688 There were claims of foul play, possibly involving military equipment. These theories only gained traction when governments in the area made it illegal to try to recover anything from the ship, going as far as to want to pour concrete over the ship below, so that no one would be able to enter it.
@@QertzonOfficalAt first it was belived to be only soft seabed at the site of the wreck. New investigations of the site have shown that part of the seabed is rock. Those parts match the holes in the hull.
I saw a documentary on this story maybe 15 -20 years ago wherein they showed unedited videos of the life boats being found by rescue helicopters and all these dead, blue people floating in the bottom of these inflatables in the place they were referring to as the “soup” … I’ve never forgotten that… scared to crap outta me … they pulled this one guy out of the soup alive and didn’t think he’d live but he did …later documentaries I saw had the dead people blurred out but the first time I saw something about this story, u could see them all dead and blue … really scary documentary but I’ve never been able to find it again
How come the life raft doesn't have a clip hook at top pick the whole raft then set it on the deck they land on ? Just a question I don't do boats ,seas, or choppers
A recent discovery series argued that there was unreported damage to the underwater hull and evidenced this with imagery. The consensus was it had been caused by an external force
Yeah that series is full of bulls*** if its the one im thinking of. There was unreported damage discovered yes. But it was investigated and found to have been from from contact with the sea floor and discoved only recently as the boat has shifted position over the years, revealing parts of the hull that where hidden when the original investigation took place.
When I called in the Mayday, first words out of my mouth after saying the ship name would have been "We are sinking rapidly." It was not shock by the radio operator, it was pure incompetency.
This sounds like stupidity. If a call is made and the message cannot be understood or is missing severity information, why is it not treated as immediate need for help. This just sounds like a prudent response.
Family friend and his wife were the few of the lucky ones that managed to get to safety from this disaster, mostly because they were on the higher decks at the bar and moved next to exit doors to deck near life boats on higher side of the ship when the ship started to make angry noises and list. Once people started to rush from the lower decks with life vests talking about water and it become clear ship was sinking, he being straight forwards guy convinced the few crewmember start lowering life rafts despite the lack of order to abandon ship, until list become too much and at that point the other side was already below water. Far as i recall and video states there was not much time between these events, combined with the overall panic of the passengers, they managed to launch just a few rafts before crewmember told they could not do it no longer due the list, witch after he decided he had done what could and jump over and swam to raft his wife was on. Thanks to being country bumpkin, avid ice fisher that does have done couple unintentional ice swims in the past, i guess his clothes being mostly wool (that do keep rather warm even after getting wet), he survived the hypothermia issue despite the swim session. They didnt talk about it much, guess thinking they could have done more, being ashamed they were the ones that managed to escape. The common survivor regret people suffer from being the few that are still alive in mass casualties event. His wife slept away 5 years ago and he did last year.
Ships designed for these sea conditions shouldn't have bow door type loading access.There are numerous examples where rear door access only works fine.
Hypothermia is according to research quite merciful way to go in the end as you'll feel warm, euphoric and probably even have hallucinations easing your anxiety as you lose your consciousness...
Is there a source for your definitive statement that if the ship had slowed down or gone into reverse then water would not have entered the car deck and the ship would not have sank? I am not aware of anything to suggest we can categorically say that.
They didn’t physically investigate a loud bang heard on the bridge. They forensically investigated the door and hinges. Had they stopped or even backdown on the initial bang the outcome would have been different.
@@PadConnelly interesting. I read the wiki on it. It told a story just like the video. I was interested if the primary captain died in the wreck. Apparently he did and rightfully so.
you are correct. There was nothing they could have done. The safest thing to do in a storm is to sail into the wind like they did. And maintain speed so you don’t loos steering control
I remember this as a 5 year old kid. I lived in a small village outside Stockholm. I head 800+ people died which is more than the village itself. I cried for days cause I thought every human died until my mother showed me a map of the planet and said there is people everywhere.
"there are people EVERYWHERE"- as an adult understanding the truth of that statement, I'm saddened in a different way.
I am estonian i was just turned 7 that same day ,my birthday is 27 september and i rember this accident it was sad day !
😂😂😂😂My mother told me when l was 5 if you made a face to the kids next door the wind would your face permanently. I was terrified.
@@sking3492 Jeeez
You have a good heart.
I remeber this accident from when i was a young man.
It was especially devastating because only 4 years earlier a fire on board MS Scandinavian star cost 159 people their lives, these years were rough for Scandinavian passenger shipping...
That one was attempted insurance fraud. Scandinavian Star was barely legal, this was the first journey after some neck breaking deals and firefighters discovered at least three separate fires.
@@CapitalismSuxx I know, i have an aunt that travelled with Scandinavian star a few days before the fire, she said the ship was in complete disrepair, cabins were being constructed or refurbished while the ship was operating, hoses and extension cords were strewn in the isles and through where the fire doors should close in case of fire.
Not to forget the MS Jan Heweliusz sinking a year before Estonia
@@darraghmckenna9127 lol I travelled on that ferry in 1990 and THAT was a crusty, rusty, dusty wreck held together by glue and tape! I was terrified the entire trip and it's amazing it held together for three years afterwards! I find nothing weird in that sinking. Screws INSIDE the ferry, in our cabin, were rusted loose!
@@CapitalismSuxx no surprising, the repair job for the fire damage seemed amateur at best
I remember this. I had just started first grade. A classmate of mine told the class his mom was supposed to have been on the ship but had missed it for some reason I don't recal.
Mate, you give the best recount of maritime events/disasters. I share your channel with as many captains and skippers as I can, in hope that if we cannot prevent these things from happening at least we can be more prepared when they do. Thank you
Thanks mate. 🤛🏻
Most reliable history of that terrible maritime disaster I ever heard. Thanks a lot!
Can add, that mother nature took its role in tragedy: so called "angry Baltic wave" initiated by strong SW winds have sent the Estonia down.
lol
There is an audio recording from the first mayday call untill the first rescue ships arrive. From there you can really tell how fast everything happen. And the sound of surprise and terror in the voices of Europas and mariellas captains when they realise there is no more estonia.
And people can listen to those radio recordings here on TH-cam
I've listened to that VHF recording multiple times. Absolutely spine-chilling to listen to.
Estonia is the one sinking that really, really freaks me out. Because it looks so much like ferries I've been on so many times over the years. Like, modern. Or at least, modern to me.
Yes, perhaps exactly that one too? Me too was on Viking Sally (Estonia's former name) several times in the 1980s.
It was in better weather though, and with the usual Finnish/Swedish crew (and probably no military transports onboard).
@slowbasil Most newer ferries are built in a different way. Estonia had a bow visor that lifted up to open. This design puts a lot of stress on the points where the bow visor is attached to the hull because the waves crashing against the bow exerts force on the visor in the same direction it is opened. Most modern ferries that operate in rough seas and have bows that open have clam doors that opens sideways. This is a safer as the waves crashing against the bow pushes the doors against the hull.
I get the impression that ferries are cancelled more often these days than they used to be. I'm Norwegian and don't read Swedish newspapers on a daily basis, but I read the Norwegian ones every day. There is hardly a month between September and April where I don't see the ferries that goes between Norway and Denmark are cancelled or delayed because of the weather.
I worked, several years later, onboard the Rocky Giant from van Oord ACZ, that was contracted to cover the wreckage by Smit, whom was the main contractor. We laid special mats and dumped rocks on them, around the Estonia to “stabilise” the seabed for the concrete mats that would cover her. The first time we were there we had to do a survey with our ROV and when it “flew” over the wreckage it got eerily quiet on the bridge. Everyone understood how many people lost their lives and how many people were still down there in the wreckage. That was a moment I’ll never forget.
We finished our part of the plan to make her into a Seaman’s grave, but they cancelled it after many protests from the victims families.
Thank you so much for sharing your memories.
@@LindaYariger your welcome.
Did anyone ever say why? It's the first time I've ever heard of a ship- civilian or Military- covered in concrete.
@@derektaylor2941 They wanted to make it a “Seamans” grave. The reason that they wanted it covered by concrete mats was because Russian Navy ships were constantly near the spot where it sank. Also there was a rich guy who hired an ROV vessel to find his wife’s body and wanted to retrieve her with divers once he found her. So the Swedish government decided to cover it so no one could disturb the wreckage and, most importantly, the bodies of the deceased. They were afraid that people would dive to the wreckage to retrieve valuables from the trucks and the deceased.
@@erikgoossens1 it is unusual though, compared to other ship wrecks.
Whilst I make no judgement either way, I can understand why the conspiracy theorists believe there is something inside the ship that they want to remain there.
Thanks for explanation.
Fun fact: The murder that took place on Estonia (then called Viking Sally) is among the most famous murder mysteries in Finland and has never been solved.
More of a sad fact
Thank you for the information. Never know about this so thank you again!
Wow got a sense of deja vu last summer also in july i was on a ferry from turku finland also to germany and me and my brother slept on the top deck of the ferry pretty wild, sad what happened to them
In denmark we had a man named Herman Himle who was on that ferry back in the day (under a different name) was he actually guilty.
He appear to be that person that has a lot to say & if it annoys the authorities then he will be happy to say it. If he actually committed then why was he acquitted in finnish court?
He has been throwing a lot around since that appears to be nutts & bolts, but one said: he claimed he did IT.
A lot of words in the documentary doesnt make sense & i highly doubt his words as he is full of hot air...
No fricken mystery, if Estonia was used by Americans to transport Russian military hardware from Baltic States. I guess someone grom KGB had enough and sank Estonia.
I can't even begin to imagine what these poor people went through . 😢
Very well explained on this tragedy. I remember crossing the ‘Little Minch’ in the early 90s when i was a kid! I remember looking at the massive storm waves from inside our ship and thinking the sea will swallow us whole if we have a problem no one will have time to do anything. It was a terrifying experience.
How refreshing to see a video that not only has presented the facts correctly, but is not sensationalist and as a bonus, presented by a real person and not an irritating AI voice.
I can only imagine what it's like for those on a sinking ship. I was once 'lucky' enough to participate in an emergency crew simulation of an evacuation- ironically from Mariella's sister, Olympia. On the upper decks with great windows and plenty of doors leading out to the lifeboats, it's not so bad. But imagine being down in the bowels, with the lights switched off, the emergency lights deliberately deactivated, using only torches and the corridors full of dry ice to simulate smoke and you understand how they really pushed up training post Estonia. Oh and of course, we were in port with the deck level and not listing nor tossing about on the open seas.
Great video, however I do have one comment. Regarding the rescue helicopters you called them Super Puma and Agusta Bell as if they were the names of the helicopters themselves, however the Eurocopter/Airbus Super Puma is a model of helicopter that was used in the rescue effort, and Agusta Bell is the manufacturer of the european variant of the Bell 412, which is a different model of helicopter also used in the rescue. Again, fantastic video, I just wanted to add a minor correction to a detail I missed.
Great information I'm sure the survivors floating in the water were concerned about the correct name of the helicopters that were coming to try and save them wow are you just being smart I'm amazed that you're brilliance of British aircraft you should be up aircraft designer better yet you should be someone that names their crafts😂
@@driverslqqk7940 dude shut up, caring about details isn't a bad thing. It's the kinda thing that woulda kept the ship from f***ing sinking in the first place lmao
I went on this ferry when she was Sally the Viking, it really was upsetting to think about her sinking and the tragic loss is so many lives, we had really enjoyed our trip over to France and back, made you realise how fleeting everything really is.
I was on an overnight ferry the other day and guys in the bar were talking about this. Being Ex Navy, I had my evacuation route planned, even in the event of a capsize! Stand by!
Hearing about the EPIRB made me instantly think of the El Faro. I don't believe you've made a video about it, but you should definitely add that to your list of "to dos"
Were actually working on it.
@@waterlinestories omg cannot WAIT
@@waterlinestories I also cannot wait! I read a riveting piece from William Langewiesche on El Faro which was my gateway into this subject. Can't wait to see how you cover it!
@@waterlinestoriesyes lad
More like the other way around.. El Faro went down because of one mans Ego..
Useless fun fact: 'ramp' means 'disaster' in Dutch.
I learned this from bijlmerramp
Actually, that is very interesting. Thanks for including it.
Not useless...
Intuitive...
They always 'ramp' it up.
What makes it even more "funny" in a very dark way is the fact that This ramp design was truly a disaster.
what a coincedence
Very nicely done. I am Norwegian. This catastrophe of a disaster shook me and all of my region to the core. A lot of people aren’t even aware of this disaster many places In other areas of the world. The horror these passengers went through is unbearable to think about. I had nightmares about the sinking of Estonia throughout the winter of 94/95. We lost a lot of people.
I like the added map footage.
Thanks yes I'm enjoying adding that in
@@waterlinestories it's cool!
@@waterlinestories keep it up! its not easy to improve upon an already great concept
@@dabootvv Well said.
@@Look_What_You_Didyes we know you think it’s dumb, you’ve posted the same comment multiple times. To much time on your hands apparently.
What’s worse- a cowardly captain who abandons the ship and saves himself or a captain who remains on the bridge but freezes up and does nothing?
The ones that bugger off are worse.
The ones who freeze can be left on board to go down with the ship while someone else takes lead.😆
If you’re talking about Costa Concordia, he didn’t abandon ship, he FELL into a lifeboat. Which then unexpectedly carried him to the shore. 😂😂😂
@@farfaraway4285 ah yes, the old “fell into the lifeboat” guy. And didn’t he change into civilian clothing before “falling into the lifeboat” or am I confusing coward captains?
@@YoMamasCasa yes you are correct. He changed his clothes when he got to safety before being interviewed.
If a captain stays, at least he isn't taking up a spot on a lifeboat that someone else can use
Another great story - keep it up! The visuals and the presentation have also gotten even better. It is noticeable and very much appreciated!!
Thanks 👌🏻
So sad, so many lives lost…..you did another great job on the storytelling……thank you xx
It amazes me that there are not more RoRo ferry incidents considering I have read all it takes is an inch of water on an open vehicle deck to doom a ship. There would be nothing more terrifying than being trapped in a capsized ship with no light.
Search up express samina
one reason is that after this incident, atleast in the nordic countries and estonia, they welded the front shut, and only use the back to load trucks and cars now.
@@Weffi76makes sense. I work in Agriculture and all the Wallenius Wilhelmsen ships that move the machines are stern loaders.
@@Weffi76 that is not my experience. Bow loading still takes place.
Like Estonia, most accidents do not occur due to a single event, but many. Even an inch of water on the car deck won't automatically sink the ship. One inch of water on a RoRo 575 ft long, 100ft wide (about the Estonia or a Mariella class size) is about 130 tons of water. On a calm day with little movement, you'd not even notice that in the handling of the ship. Even on a violent sea, 130 tons is not going to capsize the ship- that's going to make it handle about the same as a badly loaded deck with 3 lorries on one side... With a ship weighing 37,500 tons (as with Mariella- don't know about Estonia) you won't sink from that. In any case there are drains all over the deck- named scuppers- which will either drain straight to the side or will have active pumps which switch on when detecting water.
A clearer example of multiple events leading to a RoRo sinking is MV Herald of Free Enterprise... there were so many failures that happened and if only one failure had been detected and prevented then it would never have capsized- same with Estonia, perhaps (HOFE: bow door open, bow trim tanks flooded to match the linkspan, shallow water, increased speed, turning to port... take away any one of those and accident avoided).
Re being trapped: I took part in a crew training event on Olympia (sister to Mariella, though just changed fleet) right after Estonia. When you're down on the lower decks, below water, with the power off, using torches because they even deactivated the emergency lights, with dry ice to simulate smoke and trying to get up to the top decks... that was not pleasant and that was in port and not on a ship in a storm. HTH.
I grew up hearing stories and seeing reports of disasters like this, Herald of Free Enterprise etc and every time I go on a ferry now I’m always paying attention to lifeboat stations, lifejacket locations and am looking to get seated as close to a way out as possible. What a terrible disaster, and completely avoidable, this was.
this channel is doing God s work, people take many things for granted, no way I am sleeping or below deck in any ship for any period of time lol and will do a reconnaissance tour of everything like you said, and all thanks to what I ve seen here
The pen on paper map is a brilliant concept!
@Look_What_You_Did
I won’t hear any more Pen on Paper map slander. You’re already on thin ice
What a hollow, empty shell you live in.@@Look_What_You_Did
Chart..not a map! Lol
Loved the personalised vision of you showing us on a nice detailed colour map..👍
Loving your channel. I keep coming back for these interesting accounts. Coming from South Africa, I wanted to just recommend looking into the history of South African maritime incidents/accidents sometime. You'll find such interesting stories. The collision of the SAS Tafelberg and Kruger was quite a major tragedy and the survivor stories are quite harrowing.
Thanks. I'll check it out.
Very well made video. I've listened to the full radio broadcast of the mayday messages. It's very tough to hear. You can hear alarms blaring and all sorts of things falling as the Estonia lists when Tammes speaks. It's very likely that the ship was 60-70 degrees by the time he gave the position.
I like the new "map-part" it gives the video another cool "reallife" feeling
@@Look_What_You_Did It's dumb and funny that you felt the need to respond to three comments to complain about this 😂😂😂
I was like meh, but then I thought, he's put some effort in and not used some silly stock footage. I like it.
amazing production quality. I really like your calm explaining style
I love your commentary. And have become quite fascinated with every one of these stories.
Extremely well done. Great presentations. Very sound analysis coupled with compassion for the victims.
Thanks, I really appreciate that 😀👍🏻
Worth noting is that the Estonia was owned by Estonia and Sweden at the time of the disaster, and the footage shown in the video was filmed from a Boeing Vertol helicopter from the Swedish Air Force. Eight helicopters from Sweden participated in the rescue operation and saved many lives. The full footage can be seen on the Swedish Armed Forces TH-cam channel.
Ex US Navy fireman here. I'm trained in shipboard emergencies. Specifically for firefighting, flooding, fuel spills, ruptured pipes, chemical/biological/radioactive contamination/containment/removal. I was also a certified rescue swimmer. We trained constantly for personnel overboard operations, fires, flooding, abandon ship, chemical/biological/nuclear contamination and cleansing. Civilian operations never do this to any significant level and their passengers are also never properly trained or prepared for any types of disaster. If you've ever been on a cruise ship you know what I'm talking about. The civilian sector doesn't want their passengers to know just how dangerous travel aboard ship is so they deliberately avoid any types of training that could actually save lives. They also won't hire people like me and pay us what we're worth based on our military training and qualifications. I worked for a short time in the offshore oil industry aboard a crew transport vessel and I was only paid $60 a day for working 10 hours per day 7 days a week and living onboard and on call 24 hours per day for 6 weeks at a time. My next job as a fully qualified industrial painter paid $120 per day for 8 hour work days. Edit: This was back in 1988.
Well, that sucks. I get paid just as much with good health, and I don't even have close to the certifications and responsibilities that you have. My home and family is less than 5 mins. away. I literally put part in machine press button remove and repeat.
Money talks unfortunately. People's safety isn't paramount when there's money to be made.
Damn, I make more than that and I’m mainly just a dental hygienist for peoples pets.
why hire you for high pay when they can get all the crew from the 3rd world and pay them 120$ a month
@@imchris5000 To save lives? Properly inspect the vessel before, during and after the trip? To actually organize a proper evacuation? To minimize damage by initiation of proper safety protocols and securing the damaged area to prevent spreading? 🤷
My now wife was on the Marielle that night. They spent all night and most of the next day searching for survivors but mostly it was dead bodies that they saw floating in the sea. She doesn’t talk about it much even to me so I won’t tell her that I saw this
I had a land based experience I wrote about in the comments, in case you might want to read it:
I remember this so vividly and clear as that morning I had an appointment with dentist in university hospital of Turku, building was pretty large and round so that over hundred of those dentist chairs, each with a station for air tools, water and equipment were placed on the 2 second floor around the large open round floor (free dental healthcare for school kids by university dentistry students and supervised by DDS's & DMD's = win win) and I had a seat right in front of the huge window looking directly over to the helipad of the hospital and I watched for well over a hour as helicopters landed bringing in survivors and body bags. During that time I only saw a few survivors being brought in and so many black bodybags. Next to the helipad was a pile of discarded orange life vests taken from the survivors and perished alike painting a somber autumnal scene with leafless trees, storm winds and raining sideways, can't even imagine the weather at the accident site at sea!
And it sure as hell didn't ease my anxiety at all that my mouth was full of dental equipment as my teeth and orthodontic apparatus was being worked at the same time 😅that had a huge impact on my 14 year old mind and as I said, I still vividly remember how it played out at the one end.
*_MAY ALL THE VICTIMS OF M/S ESTONIA REST IN PEACE_*
oh man, that’s awful. i hope she heals somewhat, i know that’s something you never forget.
Get her a nice hot chocolate and a non expectation back rub, with her fave snack. Ask her how she is and just listen to her. Ask if she needs anything and if everything is okay, that no matter what she says you are on her team, her back up, always. If she has nothing important to talk about that's fine too.
. Do this every three months. Tell her you will do this every three months. Let her know that you understand sometimes it's hard to talk about things, wants , needs , expectations , the past and even dreams for the future and as you grow together those may change in the best and most beautiful ways and you want to be in her corner what ever she needs.
My husband did this before he died. It helped my PTSD. I didn't speak about anything for months then suddenly I told him everything. And we were stronger than anything. Establishing a safe place was needed for me. Maybe she needs the same.
I wish you and your wife the best.
I was able to get help after.
I was in a bombing where I was one of three survivors, a little girl died in my arms. Survival guilt, bodies everywhere and the smell. It's hard to deal with.
Did they keep the bars open on Mariella during that period?
@@johanea I don’t know, but I doubt it.
They extracted the bow visor in order to examine it ashore, and it sat for a long while at a dock that was visible from the motorway through Stockholm. I remember seeing it there many times, it was kinda eerie.
One thing more what report pointed out. Estonia or Viking Sally how it was first named, was designed sailing coastal waters not open, and the locking systems were desinged accordingly. Report speculates, that it might have contributed to material fatique. The report also states of overall bad maintenance of the vessel.
The Estonia sinking was a national tragedy in three countries: Estonia, the flag country of the vessel; Sweden, since over half of the victims were Swedes, and Finland, since it was the lead country in the rescue effort. In Finland the early 90's were a grim time to begin with, due to the Depression, and the Estonia disaster felt like a culmination of that whole era.
I hope none of the failure to just say, "mayday" wasn't hinged upon ego or pride? A ship listing over at 15 degrees is significant
& is a mayday condition. I've seen a ship where furniture & large vending machines were cascading across the floor like pool
balls, careening off each other & the walls. IT's a terrifying event when things inside a ship are tossed like nothing and I can
not fathom the levels of fear these folks must've endured. RIP...... WoW, thanks for the story.
I remember this so vividly and clear as that morning I had an appointment with dentist in university hospital of Turku, building was pretty large and round so that over hundred of those dentist chairs, each with a station for air tools, water and equipment were placed on the 2 second floor around the large open round floor (free dental healthcare for school kids by university dentistry students and supervised by DDS's & DMD's = win win) and I had a seat right in front of the huge window looking directly over to the helipad of the hospital and I watched for well over a hour as helicopters landed bringing in survivors and body bags. During that time I only saw a few survivors being brought in and so many black bodybags. Next to the helipad was a pile of discarded orange life vests taken from the survivors and perished alike painting a somber autumnal scene with leafless trees, storm winds and raining sideways, can't even imagine the weather at the accident site at sea!
And it sure as hell didn't ease my anxiety at all that my mouth was full of dental equipment as my teeth and orthodontic apparatus was being worked at the same time 😅that had a huge impact on my 14 year old mind and as I said, I still vividly remember how it played out at the one end.
*_MAY ALL THE VICTIMS OF M/S ESTONIA REST IN PEACE_*
What a traumatic thing to see
The sinking of the Estonia is perhaps the news story that left the most lasting impression on me from my childhood. By that time, I had already traveled extensively on similar ships, so the accident felt close to home.
One of the most chilling details related to the accident comes from the accounts of survivors who climbed onto the side of the ship. When the vessel had tipped to a 90-degree angle, some survivors were walking on the ship's side, trying to reach one of the remaining lifeboats or any object that was floating. They had to walk carefully and watch their step to avoid slipping, tripping on something uneven, or-God forbid-falling back into the ship through some random opening. At the same time, however, they tried not to look into the cabin windows, behind which were people eternally trapped in the sinking ship, out of their minds with fear, jumping, screaming, and pounding on the windows. Those walking on the side of the ship could no longer do anything to help them. They could only try to avoid looking at the faces behind the windows, as the sight would surely have haunted the survivors for the rest of their lives.
Wow
Seeing news reports on TV just after this disaster, traumatized me for life and made me feel very uneasy about open seas and deep unknown waters. I was 9 years old when this disaster happened in 1994, and since I am Swedish, it hit close to home with such a disaster happening to a ship sailing to and from Sweden and where you or someone you know, could have been among the victims.
But yeah, the helicopter footage from the rescue work and seeing the inflatable liferafts on the stormy sea, it marked me for life... Even today at age 38, I much prefer to stay on land or at least see land if I'm on a ship.
Same, but I was an “adult”, barely 18 and living in my first own home. Estonia happening right after Princess Diana’s death felt almost apocalyptic, I remember waking up to both, vividly. This was before internet, so quickest way to find news was text-tv, me & ex were glued to it, trying to find updates and checking all news broadcasts from all possible channels (I think we had 4 back then). Im a Finn and we traveled to Marienhamn in summer ‘95, it was hot & muggy July week, but I refused to go swimming.. all I could think was all the bodies, somewhere in that same dark water. I was melting, but I just couldnt make myself go into the water. On my first ferry trip to Stockholm after Estonia, I was super aware of every creak the ship made, I dont think I slept much at all. I cant even imagine how it mustve felt like as a child..
@@janemiettinen5176 Estonia sunk in 1994.
@@helene4397 For some weird reason my brain makes Princess Di happening the same year, I dont get it myself.
Dude, I worked on a Land Ship Logistic (LSL) with a flat bottom. We were told that with 3 inches of water on the tank deck, She would roll over in 22 seconds. Enjoy you kip .
There are books out there like "Worst Case Scenario " for a reason.
The official raport lied. The ramp was NOT open during the disaster. And the ramp was NOT linked with the visor at all.
I guess you were there?
Source?
@@vicross2569 Ramp is described in official report too. Not linked with visor. None of survivors described ramp open although almost all lower rank seamen who looked after the ramp survived.
@marguskiis7711 after reading into it, you're absolutely right. That hole that they discovered is insane, though it's interesting that the door is open now, whereas, in a previous dive, it was said to be closed.
I was 4. I came to kitchen for breakfast and the tv was on in the living room (which was quite uncommon in our family). Dad was watching the news. Estonia is the first major news story I remember.
I'm a Finn.
I’m obviously no marine engineer or ship builder but I am a metal fabricator. The design to have the front of this ship open up seems really silly to me.. that should have been at the rear.. the pressures on the front crashing into waves would be massive
The ships I have been on as a passenger had rear or side ramps.
I’m fairly sure these types of ships have doors at both ends, because you don’t want the hassle of trying to drive all the vehicles backwards.
I think thats what the raising front section was supposed to function as, a way to keep pressure off the bulkhead of the loading port, but once that was gone like you said going at that speed in that weather its not suprizeing those hinges failed
Very typical and used design .
@@Sashazur correct
For a hair-raising written account of the horrors the passengers faced that night, read William Langewiesche's piece in The Atlantic.
The image that sticks was of the passengers frantically clambering along what was the wall of the corridor running the length of the ship, then suddenly encountering a dark abyss that was a corridor across the ship. They had no choice but to try and leap across it.
Many didn't make it; some as their loved ones watched helplessly.
Just want to say that I love your "finger on map" clips. Makes it real somehow.
👈🏻
I live in Finland, I vividly remember watching the news in the morning after the disaster. Not my favorite memory. This video, however, is an excellent presentation of the accident. Thank you.
I'm Swedish. I didn't know it at the time but I lived in the city that was hit the hardest by the tragedy as about 100 of the people who were lost came from said city. For well over a month the only thing I heard downtown were the church bells tolling for the funeral services (most without a casket) day in and day out. It was a very somber sound.
I remember waking up that morning. I always woke up to the prolonged radio news at 06.45 but this morning my brain was very slow to react, so I didn't really hear what they were talking about. Instead I reacted because usually they shifted news story after a minute or so, but this seemed to just be one very long, very serious story. After a quick shower I went out to the communal TV and switched on the TV where the news showed the helicopters evacuating people from the life rafts. I still couldn't grasp what had happened and just stared at the TV in silence.
One after another my fellow dorm mates joined me on the sofa. Somehow we managed to cram 8 people in a sofa made for 3. No one said a word; we were all just staring at the TV, but then one of the guys began to cry.
A situation where 8 adults sit on top of each other and just stare at the screen in total silence for about two hours in indeed a traumatizing event.
@@swedishmeatball4382 It is still a difficult topic to discuss for many and now that I'm much older I completely understand why. I have some friends in Sweden who lost someone that night. I hope you're doing alright.
Book by William Langewiesche has a section describing the sinking. It was pure Darwinian survival as the young and strong were able to climb out of the ship
So many mistakes it seems. What a heartbreaking story. I can hardly imagine what those poor people who did not survive went through.
It's crazy how fast the MS Estonia sunk. My co-workers father was part of crew and survived. Heard some crazy stories from him.
It's haunting seeing these photos and videos of the disaster unfolding knowing so many of the people in those shots are about to die.
Those are not shots from Estonia but from another ships.
@@dexio85 I have been tricked.
@@something7239 Don't feel bad. Remember it as a lesson. TRUST NOTHING on the Internet until you've confirmed it yourself. Not photos. Not audio. Not words. Verify first... because the Internet is half truths incarnate.
@@dexio85Some are from Estonia but most of the video footage is from Concordia I believe. Its defo Estonia where the little red liferafts are being tossed about in the swell, filmed by a chopper. Pretty haunting video footage of those rafts, in some videos, about half of the people in the raft are dead. I remember theres a clip on Ytbe where a young, attractive, fit looking kid gets airlifted out of a raft, he survived, but the raft is partially filled with dead bodies just floating face down. The look on his face... Like a ghost. The fear of cold exemplified.
I also recall a young fella saying he knew something was wrong, went to evacuate up the stairs, but his gf, mum & dad just froze at the entryway, he was carried up the stairs with the crowd & that was the last time he saw them, looking shell shocked & bewildered. Awful.
That this happened AFTER the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster was a shocker in Europe.
I traveled on a Swedish Roro from Amsterdam to Newcastle last November through a huge North Sea Storm. I was extremely impressed at the professionalism and seamanship I saw the crew demonstrate.
nice video! properly researched, nice footage and the maps. keep it up!
First rate videos with high intellect and integrity. I have one question and that is with your introductions you appear to speak with no script or notes yet you perfectly relate what you have to say. Are you working from memory with your introductions or do you know enough in order to ad-lib. Best wishes Peter London UK
😂 I wish I were that good. I actually use a teleprompter. It’s the only way I could be as precise. Even then there’s a fair amount of editing out the garbled tongue twisters.
Thanks for your kind reply. I hope you continue with these excellent videos. Many of us enjoy vicarious excitement and adventure from your work but of course loss of life is sad but at sea anything can happen. These videos are far superior to the rest on You Tube and a cut above the American output. Best wishes in all you do. Peter Starr London UK
Thanks Peter. I actually lived in London for 15 years. My wife’s German so we moved to Germany after our son was born. Now we live in the middle of nowhere. Big change from London
Excellent vidéo, well produced and narrated! Gives facts not given in other videos.
I missed you so much love 😉😉
So glad your back 👍👍👍
Thanks Beverly. Great to see you here👌🏻
@@waterlinestories Well, I've been here for weeks waiting for a new story from my favorite guy 😉😉 great to see you back at it
Nothing better than turning TH-cam on to see Waterline Stories had a new video uploaded !
Good video, very detailed with the analysis of the causes of the disaster.
The weather was rough but normal for the time of year. Captain of Silja Europa said something along the lines of "normally bad"
Can you make a video about the imploded Indonesian Submarine near Bali?
I just can't believe that level of incompetence with even getting out a clear. Mayday. ... If you don't do anything at all during an emergency at least get that call out.. wouldn't a person be yelling "mayday mayday our ship is listing heavily, I don't know why but it's getting worse send help Mayday"
As he explains in the video, yes they WERE saying that. The problem was they weren't saying precise information about their exact coordinates because the GPS was at a crazy angle and nobody could get to it to read the position for awhile. And constant updates on exact condition depends on actually knowing the condition, which they probably didn't themselves.
They had a Total Blackout and were using a small Portable VHF system at the time Tammes was literally hanging in the reeling whilst another officer was desperately trying to get the reading from an old compass in the map room behind the bridge.
On the black tapes from Mariella and Silja Europa you can hear them screaming to eachother the little information they can get in the pitchblack darkness.
There was no incompetence here but complete horror and certain death for both of them.
They chose to go down with the ship in a desperate attempt to get help.
Almost all officers rest inside Estonia on the seafloor.
Now Scandinavian Stars Captain was another story he is the closest we have to Schettiono in the Nordic ship disasters.
Infact Stena Saga's captain and also the firefighters from Gothenburg and Stenungsund to if i remember correctly who had the horror of crawling through a ship on fire so hot that their special operations gear melted whilst they were trying to put out the flames,
Has openly admitted that they had no trust in the man after he had lied to them about the crew and passengers who was still all over the burning ferry.
They were infact even so angered by him and some of the officers onboard that they seriously thought about killing them with a fireaxe and tossing the bodies into the burning ship.
The reason was that they was certain that the officers behaviours was not only hampering their efforts to save lives but also risking to kill the firefighters.
Constructive critisism: you make too few videoes
🤣 thanks. I'm working on it
Constructive critisism: It should have at least been mentioned that the reasons and findings about the sinking are disputed. It could not be ruled out that weapons were smuggled, that it was sabotage, there maybe was a bomb threat aboard just before leaving habour, according to some sources. The swedish government wanted to completely cover the wreck in concrete as soon as possible and without consent swedish from nation and people involved ships dropped rubble over the wreck. @waterlinestories
Are all of these video clips from the actual event? Or is it just similar situations being used as an example?
Another comment said they are almost all from the Concordia sinking.
Its a shame so many companies are aloud to get by with skipping on safety and when it comes out they skipped on safety they get a slap on the wrist.
7:48 why are there 2 pictures from Costa Concordia? Why are they not marked as such, even if they're used as representative of what the situation might have looked like? It would be somewhat understandable, but not clearly marking them is not okay, and quite frankly brings into question the research and accuracy of the entire video...
Bc there’re no pictures of the Estonia listing 90 degrees
Does it, though? Lol. The ship sank while sailing, anyone with common sense would know that those were meant as reference material. Chill out man, this video was fantastic. Lol
So well done series. Great work 👏 ow man finally something good on tv
👍🏻
This is somewhat unrelated but 12 on the scale saying “DEVASTATION OCCURS…Visibility is affected” cracked me up in the gallows humor sort of way.
Wow. The capture of these events is on the quality of Ken Burns. Simply put I couldn't stop listening.
OMG thanks. That’s an incredible compliment
And this kids is why I’ll never go on a cruise.
Never!
More so ,, I’m terribly not going on a boat ,, ship ( any kind ) I’m have bad vertigo ,, found this out in the late 80s ,, sick was a understatement . 🤦♀️
Enjoy your box.
This was 30 years ago
@@b7uh Well, if time travel becomes reality and I travel back 30 years.
I will not go on a cruise.
Would not go on one now due to not wanting to be trapped on a box with all those people.
@HeartsOfDarkness bruh
Scary content! Thank you.
Thanks again for the content
A very thorough report of this terrible, terrible tragedy. Plus useful reflection of what could/should have been done to make it much less fatal.
Lessons were learned, but as in all these cases - too late.
RIP those who perished and remain in the vessel on the sea bed.
And a very well told story, that did not go into all of the conspiracies that lingered around the sinking, with claims of forbidden weapons or drugs transported, being the reason the ship sunk (I seem to remember claims that someone onboard found out costums would raid the ship, so they opened the bow to dump some vehicles containing the illegal stuff, but did not disengage the locking pals before opening the gate, making the hydraulic cylinders force the hinges to break)
@@JohnDoe-bd5sz Yes, I heard and saw those other causes - on different documentaries. I think that what we saw here was the truth.
I thought the analysis that we saw of how the tragedy could have been avoided (or greatly reduced) was very useful.
@@nigelh3253 I agree, no matter why the bow port fell off, the captain and his crew terribly mismanaged the situation.
This accident reminds me a bit of the "MS Harold of free enterprice" disaster, there someone forgot to close the bow and they sailed until the ship was full of water and again...No camera's to see what was going on.
Luckily, today the laws have changed and these kinds of disasters would be all but impossible.
@@JohnDoe-bd5sz Yes the Herald of Free Enterprise was another Ro-Ro ferry (roll on, roll off). Almost 200 lives lost. Crew had a very lazy attitude - the man who should have shut the bow doors was asleep in his cabin! But nobody else bothered to check the doors and close them. Presumably this would have only taken a few minutes. Things like closing the door should have been double checked and not just left to one idle crew member. A disgrace.
@@JohnDoe-bd5sz... Amazed to know this, terrible tragedy 🙏
The automated beacon deploys when water dissolves a puck of sugar holding the device in place.
Immediately stopped watching another podcast and ran straight here 💙
What podcast ?
My classmates had friends and their families drowning in this disaster. There was a school trip from the neighbour county on that ship. I have tales about the govmt reaction to this. To be short: in the beginning everything was reasonable, but about 6mo into it, something changed. Things got WEEEE-IIII-RRRRRD and very VERY shady decisions were made. That's where the conspiracies started. I was only 17 at this time, but omg our govmt was doing really bad.
Oh, I'm Swedish, forgot to mention.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that just ask if anyone wants me to clarify things. I just wrote a short comment here on yt, but there is SO MUCH SHADYNESS from the Swedish govmt regarding this tragedy.
There were claims of weapons from Sweden's weapon industry being transported.
Not sure why they would transport them TO Sweden though.
I agree, something dodgy was going on....Did they ever go through with pouring cement onto the ship to make it impossible to enter
@@JohnDoe-bd5sz The rumours about weapons are somewhat true, it turned out. At the time, our govmt denied it, but a few years later it was "discovered" that Estonia among other ferries transported military materals to and from Estonia and the other Baltic states. The reason for transport TO Sweden was prob since the Baltics had a lot of Soviet weapons they wanted to get rid of, Sweden offered to transport some of this to maybe do research on.
They never poured cement on the ship, they just covered it with gravel. THIS story is insanity defined. Our awesome neighbour Norway has EXTENSIVE experience in deep diving activities and considering Estonia is kind of shallow at 80m it is INCOMPREHENSIBLE that noone asked Norway for help!! At first the intention was to salvage the entire ship, but after those first 6mo that was reasonable, all THIS kind of shit suddenly appeared and this is where the conspiracies started.
There's definitely a-lot of shady stuff gone on regarding this ship! Wanting to cover the whole thing in concrete! Why would they want that?
There's the submarine collision theory as well........very sus.
@@Disco-stu1982there's a satanic alien theory as well... very sus
Crazy how this sinking is so unknown outside of northern Europe. Lots of strange things surrounding this event.
Oh Lord, not another conspiracy theorist 🙄.
@@johnnunn8688 because everybody knows conspiracies are not real. The rich and powerful are ABSOLUTELY NOT doing shady deals, ever. Not once in history! Brilliant and high IQ post brother!
@@johnnunn8688 There were claims of foul play, possibly involving military equipment.
These theories only gained traction when governments in the area made it illegal to try to recover anything from the ship, going as far as to want to pour concrete over the ship below, so that no one would be able to enter it.
@@johnnunn8688 Oh Lord, another sheep
@@neera1123finally someone who uses his brain 👍
Actual investigation from Swedish divers and journalists, revealing a big gash on the side of the hull of Estonia.
Yes it was caused by the ship hitting the seabed when she sank. When she landed on her side hard parts of the seabed punctured the hull on her side.
@@parnordquist6607she landed on sand, and the sand made it impossible to make that powerful hole in the ship wreck
@@QertzonOfficalAt first it was belived to be only soft seabed at the site of the wreck. New investigations of the site have shown that part of the seabed is rock. Those parts match the holes in the hull.
Man I just started going on cruises lol I don't need this right now
🤣
i really enjoy watching your vidoes i am a new subscriber .
Great narration ❤❤❤❤ New subscriber.
👍🏻
I saw a documentary on this story maybe 15 -20 years ago wherein they showed unedited videos of the life boats being found by rescue helicopters and all these dead, blue people floating in the bottom of these inflatables in the place they were referring to as the “soup” … I’ve never forgotten that… scared to crap outta me … they pulled this one guy out of the soup alive and didn’t think he’d live but he did …later documentaries I saw had the dead people blurred out but the first time I saw something about this story, u could see them all dead and blue … really scary documentary but I’ve never been able to find it again
You Sir are the greatest TH-camr.
Can you do a video on the Princendam fire?
How come the life raft doesn't have a clip hook at top pick the whole raft then set it on the deck they land on ? Just a question I don't do boats ,seas, or choppers
A recent discovery series argued that there was unreported damage to the underwater hull and evidenced this with imagery. The consensus was it had been caused by an external force
Yeah that series is full of bulls*** if its the one im thinking of. There was unreported damage discovered yes. But it was investigated and found to have been from from contact with the sea floor and discoved only recently as the boat has shifted position over the years, revealing parts of the hull that where hidden when the original investigation took place.
Do the maps have a glossy finish that will reflect a bunch of light, or are they more authentic?
When I called in the Mayday, first words out of my mouth after saying the ship name would have been "We are sinking rapidly." It was not shock by the radio operator, it was pure incompetency.
They still would've died.
He was in shock.
So you're a psychologist, a hero AND experienced in facing imminent death. Yet all you show here is you're an idiot.
This sounds like stupidity. If a call is made and the message cannot be understood or is missing severity information, why is it not treated as immediate need for help. This just sounds like a prudent response.
Family friend and his wife were the few of the lucky ones that managed to get to safety from this disaster, mostly because they were on the higher decks at the bar and moved next to exit doors to deck near life boats on higher side of the ship when the ship started to make angry noises and list. Once people started to rush from the lower decks with life vests talking about water and it become clear ship was sinking, he being straight forwards guy convinced the few crewmember start lowering life rafts despite the lack of order to abandon ship, until list become too much and at that point the other side was already below water. Far as i recall and video states there was not much time between these events, combined with the overall panic of the passengers, they managed to launch just a few rafts before crewmember told they could not do it no longer due the list, witch after he decided he had done what could and jump over and swam to raft his wife was on. Thanks to being country bumpkin, avid ice fisher that does have done couple unintentional ice swims in the past, i guess his clothes being mostly wool (that do keep rather warm even after getting wet), he survived the hypothermia issue despite the swim session. They didnt talk about it much, guess thinking they could have done more, being ashamed they were the ones that managed to escape. The common survivor regret people suffer from being the few that are still alive in mass casualties event. His wife slept away 5 years ago and he did last year.
Great run down and sum up of the situation.
Ships designed for these sea conditions shouldn't have bow door type loading access.There are numerous examples where rear door access only works fine.
Your a good storyteller ❤
Thanks 👍🏻
You're*
Yeah I'd never get on a ship that opened WITH the impact forces rather than against them in a force friggen 8.
That must have been one of the worst ways to die.
Hypothermia is according to research quite merciful way to go in the end as you'll feel warm, euphoric and probably even have hallucinations easing your anxiety as you lose your consciousness...
Amazing video. Where did you find the image of the arrested man in estline shirt?
That map footage was awesome.
👍🏻
Excellent channel. Live long and prosper.
👌🏻
Holy cow what a terrifying nightmare
Is there a source for your definitive statement that if the ship had slowed down or gone into reverse then water would not have entered the car deck and the ship would not have sank? I am not aware of anything to suggest we can categorically say that.
It’s obvious to everyone that possesses a brain.
actively scooping up water by going forward certainly didn't help...
They didn’t physically investigate a loud bang heard on the bridge. They forensically investigated the door and hinges. Had they stopped or even backdown on the initial bang the outcome would have been different.
@@PadConnelly interesting. I read the wiki on it. It told a story just like the video. I was interested if the primary captain died in the wreck. Apparently he did and rightfully so.
you are correct. There was nothing they could have done. The safest thing to do in a storm is to sail into the wind like they did. And maintain speed so you don’t loos steering control