ELECTRA AF ASKO

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Survey ships started work at Estonia wreck

27 years after the sinking of the Estonian ferry "Estonia", in the night of September 28, 1994 with 989 people on board on her way from Tallinn to Stockholm off the Finnish south coast, in which 852 people were killed. the authorities from Estonia and Sweden have started new investigations on the wreck. The “Electra af Askö” and the Estonian “Eva 316” arrived at the sinking site of the accident in the night ofJuly 9, 2021, for preliminary study which will last until July 18, during which the wreck and the sea floor are examined with echo sounders and sonar devices. An underwater robot with a camera will also be used. The data, which are collected with the help of experts from the Stockholm University SU, are to be visualized later, which can take several months. More extensive investigations are then planned for next spring. On another ship of the Estonian border guard, bishops from Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia held a memorial ceremony for the victims at noon, before investigations with a multibeam echo sounder were carried out until evening. Due to high swell, the work at the wreck, which is almost 80 meters deep, was canceled in the late evening of July 9. According to the official investigation report from 1997, the torn off bow visor was the cause of the sinking. Survivors and bereaved relatives have long called for investigations to be restarted. Documentary filmmakers revealed in 2020 that they used a diving robot to discover, among other things, a meter-wide hole in the ship's hull. Because many of the dead could not be recovered, the wreck is under protection as a sea grave and may not be visited. After the revelations, Sweden introduced legal changes so that authorities can examine the finds more closely. These changes came into effect at the beginning of July.

Scientific reasearch vessel delivered to Stockholm University

Baltic Workboats says it has delivered a scientific research vessel Electra to Stockholm University of Sweden. Vessel is designated mainly for research work on the Baltic Sea and transport of students from mainland to Askö island research center. Vessel is built and equipped, so that it can accommodate up to 35 passengers plus crew. Hull has been constructed of steel and built according to LRS "+100A1 SSC Workboat, Mono, G3, Ice class 1 C FS MCH UMS" and Finnish-Swedish ice class 1C rules under the inspection of STA. For staying on board the vessel is built with two single and two double cabins for crew under the main deck. Sound insulation onboard meets highest demands by not exceeding 55 dB(A) anywhere in the accommodation or work space during sailing. More to read at http://en.portnews.ru/news/223297/