The M/S Estonia docked in Stockholm before her tragic sinking

The M/S Estonia sank in rough seas while en route to Stockholm in 1994, claiming the lives of 852 people.

The Estonia was a German-built passenger ship and car ferry that had sailed commercially since 1980 under the names Viking Sally, Silja Star and Wasa King. She had been owned by the EstLine Marine Company for a year and half before the disaster, operating between Tallinn in Estonia and Stockholm in Sweden.

The ship ploughed straight into high waves, while making its early morning crossing to Stockholm on 28th September 1994. The locks on the car deck doors buckled under pressure and water flooded the ship. A garbled emergency message and problems releasing the ship’s lifeboats hampered the response to the crisis.

There were 989 crew and passengers on the Estonia when it sank, but only 137 survived the catastrophe. Conspiracy theories surround the story of the sinking and it is alleged that the Estonia was carrying secret military equipment at the time of the accident, which may be why she has never been raised to the surface.