Antwerp to Tallinn - Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World - page 22

Just like our ferry, the Estonia was a “Ro-Ro”—meaning “roll on, roll off.” Ro-Ro ferries have a draw-
bridgelike hatch in their hull that, when lowered down to a pier, allows cars and trucks to roll directly into
a parking deck deep within the ship. On the Estonia , this draw-bridge hatch was set into the bow, and the
pointed prow of the ship swung out of the way to expose the door.
Passengers who'd traveled aboard the Estonia on previous journeys noted that this giant opening in the
front of the ship was not exactly watertight. In fact, the mostly Estonian crew had sometimes been observed
stuffing mattresses and rags into a big gap that seawater leaked through. This water would slosh around on
the parking deck, and more and more of it would collect over the course of a voyage. Apparently, the crew
had decided this was no big deal.
On that particular September night in 1994, the winds were gale-force and the Baltic swells were vicious.
Though the ship pitched violently, the crew kept powering through the waves. Passengers became seasick
and retired to their cabins. Some heartier souls stayed up to party in the lounges and bars—though at least
one woman dancing to the live music was reported to have lost her balance and been thrown into the band-
stand.
Sometime after midnight, a thunderous, metallic slam reverberated throughout the ship. The ship rocked
erratically and began to list. Then it listed further.
The troubled car hatch—and the outer covering meant to protect it—had become dislodged as a result of
the ferry's hard collisions with the waves. Because the car door was set into the bow, the ferry was scooping
up water as it moved forward. The sea gushed straight into the ship's belly. When the weight of the flood
became too much to fight, the ferry rolled on its side and began to sink.
Once the ship wallowed, its architecture was transformed into a cruel obstacle course. For instance, the
ferry's strange new angle turned a hallway of open cabin doors into a series of treacherous pits. Those who
fell into them found it difficult to climb back out. Stairways also inverted and became impassable.
Journalist William Langewiesche, in his book The Outlaw Sea , notes that those who made it out alive
from the Estonia were overwhelmingly younger and physically stronger than those who died. The odds
favored the quick-thinking and the athletic. Mothers were separated from sons, boyfriends from girlfriends.
“Love only slowed people down,” Langewiesche writes. “A pitiless clock was running.” Life and death
could hinge on a split-second decision between the right escape route and the wrong one.
Even those who got off the ship often died in the water. Lifeboats toppled in the wind and the tall waves.
In some cases, it took hours for rescuers to arrive. When it was all over, authorities counted 852 dead and
137 still alive.
Some blamed the ferry's German shipbuilder for a faulty hatch design (though the ferry had been in
service for more than a decade under other operators, with no prior problems). Others blamed the Soviet-
trained, Eastern Bloc crew for lax safety standards (though the crew behaved courageously once the ship
was in trouble, by most accounts). A few conspiracy theorists blamed a terrorist plot (though it's unclear
what the imaginary terrorists' motives would have been). Whatever the cause, the sinking of the Estonia
was among the worst nonwartime disasters in modern European history. Tonight, on our way to Helsinki,
we'll pass almost directly over the wreck. It's at the bottom of the Baltic, some two hundred feet below us,
and it's still full of bodies—people like us, just taking a ferry ride.
The Superfast VIII was built in 2001, so any flaws with the Estonia 's hatch design have presumably
been remedied. Also, the weather tonight is quite clear and calm. Still, I can't help but picture the lounge
we're sitting in filling with seawater and screams.
Would you rather find yourself aboard a sinking ship or a plummeting plane? For Rebecca, the answer is
easy. “I can't stand the thought of a plane crash because I'd have no control over it. I'd have to sit there in
my seat and hope the pilot knows what he's doing. I want more agency!”