Stenbock House, 6 October 2020 – during today’s cabinet meeting, the government decided to submit a proposal to the governments of Finland and Sweden to further investigate MS Estonia in cooperation between the three nations.
According to Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, the government deems it necessary to look further into the reasons of the sinking of MS Estonia because of new information about previously undocumented damage to the hull of the ship. “We wish to proceed with further investigation as soon as possible to find answers to all of the questions that have arisen in connection with the new information,” he said.
According to Ratas, the priority should be to investigate the position of the shipwreck and the seabed around it to identify the damage to the hull as well the nature and timeframe of its occurrence and its possible connections to the sinking of the ship.
He also said that it is crucial for the further investigation to be independent, transparent, and reliable. He also prioritised involving the organisations representing the loved ones of the victims of the sinking in this process.
With today’s decision of the cabinet, Estonia as the flag state of MS Estonia will ask Finland and Sweden to name project managers to prepare additional investigation works. Until a project manager is designated for this purpose in Estonia, the preparations for the investigation will be led by the Government Office in cooperation with the ministries of the interior, economic affairs and communications, finance, foreign affairs, and justice.