Government has not discussed additional funding for survey of ferry Estonia wreck

2022-09-26
BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN – Responding to an interpellation in the Riigikogu on Monday, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the government has not discussed the allocation of additional funds for the survey of the wreck of the ferry Estonia.

"It's just that because all things are getting more expensive, we have to very clearly choose what we will do, what we will not do. And since ministers have not come up with this priority, we have not discussed it," Kallas said.

"We have real estate investments that have become three times more expensive. That means we don't really have the money for everything. And it means we have to make choices and set priorities. We have taken a very clear focus this year. One of them is security, security-related investments, and I would include in this Estonian-language education, which is a matter of our security. And the other is everything that concerns people, people's coping," the head of government said.

The prime minister also noted that she is skeptical about the possibility that the inquiry could lead to any fundamentally new conclusions.

"When it comes to these surveys, I understand that there are so many unanswered questions and a lot of people have these questions. But I am personally skeptical that any new study on the accident that happened in 94 will actually find answers to all these questions," Kallas said.

Postimees reported in August that the future of the new inquiry into the sinking of the ferry Estonia is unclear, because in order to answer all the questions, the Safety Investigation Bureau needs additional money, and it is likely that, due to rising prices, a bigger amount is needed than was set out in the application submitted in the spring. At the time, the Safety Investigation Bureau requested additional funding in the amount of one million euros.

In February of last year, the government decided to allocate three million euros for the survey of the wreck, of which 1.6 million euros was allocated last May.