MYTHS AND REALITIES - WHY DID THE ESTONIA SINK

As many readers know, the final report of the Joint Accident Investiga tion Commission into the loss of the ro-ro ferry Estonia has at long l ast been published. It is a weighty document, produced to a high stan dard and including many harrowing details that will be familiar to rea ders of earlier formal reports into ferry losses. However, the disaste r has also generated massive controversy as to the reasons for the los s, and the investigation's progress was fraught with problems. In this special comprehensive analysis, naval architect Nigel Ling* argues t hat the Commission has failed to recognise realities of the event.