The boat departed from the port of Tallinn (Estonia) on the night of 28 September 1994 with 989 persons, including 186 crewmembers, to reach Stockholm (Sweden). The sinking of the ferry 85 meters deep claimed the lives of 852 people.
Several years after the disaster, the Court of Nanterre (France) has agreed to examine the compensation claim for moral damage expressed by several hundred beneficiaries and survivors. It is via an investigation of accountability made against the certification office Veritas, domiciled in the Hauts-de-Seine, and the manufacturer of the ferry that the trial took place in Nanterre in April 2019. The Court's decision is expected on July 19, 2019.
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Estonia shipwreck: the causes of the disaster
Manufactured in Germany in 1980, then bought by Estonian shipowner Estline Marine in 1993, the car-ferry Estonia which has a gauge of 15 060 tons is 155 meters long and 24 meters wide. While travelling between Tallinn and Stockholm on the night of 27 to 28 September 1994, the vessel was severely shaken by a storm that tipped it over its starboard flank. A few minutes later, the Estonia sank in the Baltic Sea.
The report published in 1997 by the international commission in charge with the investigation revealed that the locks on the ferry’s prow door did not resist the waves' pressure which led to the opening of the loading ramp allowing water to flood the car deck.
One year after the maritime catastrophe, the shipowner EstLine began negotiating with the survivors and relatives of the victims. About 130 million EUR (147 million USD) were then disbursed via a compensation fund for the repair of material damage. However, no legal proceedings for moral prejudice caused to survivors and beneficiaries were filed against the shipowner; The Swedish legislation did not recognise this prejudice as such.
Estonia shipwreck: the trial of April 2019 in Nanterre (France)
On 12 and 15 April 2019, the high Court of Nanterre examined the compensation claims for the moral damage inflicted on the survivors and the victims' relatives of Estonia shipwrek [5]. The ruling is expected for 19 July 2019.
The certificator of the car-ferry "Bureau Veritas" and the German naval manufacturer "Jos L. Meyer Werft" are prosecuted. The compensation claimed for moral damage amounts to 40.8 million EUR (46.14 million USD).