Test Sheds New Light on Ferry Disaster

An independent test of locks similar to those that failed in a Baltic Sea ferry disaster indicates that the vessel’s locks may have been tampered with or changed, a Swedish newspaper reported. The Estonia sank in 1994, killing more than 900 people, when heavy seas ripped off its visor-style bow door during a trip to Stockholm from Tallinn, Estonia. A preliminary report issued in 1995 said the bow door’s locks failed. The ship’s German builder, Meyer-Werft, has contended that the locks were poorly maintained. The new test showed similar locks were capable of withstanding far greater strain than a commission investigating the disaster estimated the ship’s locks were subjected to, the Dagens Nyheter reported.