The MV ESTONIA Accident 1994

The sinking of the passenger ship MV ESTONIA was investigated by the Joint Accident Investigation Commission (JAIC) which was set up on 29 September 1994. The final report was submitted in December 1997.

The passenger ship MV ESTONIA sank on 28 September 1994 during a voyage from Tallinn to Stockholm. Of the 989 people on board, 852 died. In accordance with an agreement between the prime ministers of Estonia, Finland and Sweden, a temporary Joint Accident Investigation Commission (JAIC) was set up to investigate the accident. A final report was published in December 1997. After the final report was published, JAIC was dissolved.

The part of the file that was handled in Sweden was transferred to the National Archives, where it was deposited in 2002. For further information, please contact the National Archives.

The MV ESTONIA Collection website (Estoniasamlingen) was created in memory of the 852 people who died when ESTONIA sank in the Baltic sea. The MV ESTONIA Collection is managed by the National Archives. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency serves as government administration focal point for relatives and survivors.

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On 28 September 2020, a film material was published that showed a previously unknown hole in the ship's starboard side. The Estonian Safety Investigation Bureau initiated a preliminary assessment of the new information and requested the assistance of the corresponding authorities in Finland and Sweden. The Safety Investigation Authority of Finland and the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority decided to assist the Estonian authority.

Read about the ongoing preliminary assessment on MV ESTONIA.