The purpose of the animation is to illustrate and explain the technical design of the bow arrangement of the passenger ferry ESTONIA, in particular the operating principles of the actuating and locking devices, and the sequence of the closing and opening processes. The animation was created using a full-scale digital three-dimensional model based on the vessel’s original drawings.
The animation also has subtitles, which can be turned on and off by clicking the CC icon.
The following animation illustrates the collapse of the bow structure and is based on numerical modelling of the failure process. This means that it is not an exact reconstruction of the failure process, but rather illustrates the possibility and principle sequence of the failure process. More detailed information on the failure process and the specific deformations caused during the process can be found in the relevant report by Tallinn University of Technology: K. Tabri, M. Heinvee, A. Soo, S. Hosseinzadeh and H. Naar, ‘MV Estonia: numerical modelling of bow arrangement failure sequence. Rev 2,’ Tallinna Tehnikaülikool, Tallinn, Tech. Rep., 14th Nov. 2025.
