Transport of military equipment

Shortened from http://heiwaco.tripod.com/epunkt125.htm#Mlast

Estonia was regularly used by the Swedish Military Defence forces to transport military equipment, apparently of ex-USSR origin, from Tallinn to Stockholm. This simple fact is not mentioned or investigated in the Final report (5).

According to an agreement between the Swedish customs authority (Tullverket) and the Swedish defence authorities (Försvarsmakten) in 1993 or 1994, the Swedish customs agreed to allow military goods to pass without normal clearance. Staff of the Swedish defence authorities informed when transports arrived. They were also attending in person on arrival, according to the head of information at the Tullverket, Mr Sven Peter Olsson.

A customs clerk has informed that Estonia carried such military equipment twice in September 1994 and it was confirmed by a Swedish military spokes person on Swedish TV in the autumn of 2004. Thus it was a normal practice that strange goods were carried by Estonia and were accepted/passed by the Swedish Customs.

In January 2005 the Swedish defence authorities confirmed this in their rapport to the Swedish government. After a short investigation, the Swedish (Svea) appeal court chief judge/president J. Hirschfeldt told the government that the defence authorities (not clear who?) had confirmed the following:

a) two consignments of military (non-explosive) goods were imported on Estonia in September 1994 and

b) an agreement with Swedish customs not to stop them was in force.

The Hirschfeldt information has been challenged by Swedish journalist Sven Anér. Already in December 22, 1994 the Swedish defence Headquarters (legal counsel Stefan Ryding-Berg) told Anér that it (the defence authorities) had no documentation of any kind about imports/transports of military goods by them on Estonia at any time 1994. On 15 April 2005 the Swedish Defence Headquarters (legal counsel Stefan Ryding-Berg again) told Anér the same thing and added that no such agreement ever existed with the Customs, etc.

The present situation is thus that the Swedish defence authorities tell the government via its chief appeal judge/president Hirschfeldt one thing - that military goods were imported/a customs agreement existed, and, on the other hand, to Anér, that no such evidence exists at Defense Headquarters. Confusing, to say the least. But according to the Swedish secrecy laws the Defence Headquarters can say whatever it will to Anér. Secret documents simply do not exist.

The details about the cargo are thus still unknown; the type and origin of the cargos, weight, volume, value, what it was declared to be and its ownership, how it was carried (in trucks or lorries?), etc. Apparently it was ex-USSR equipment (probably from the Ukraine) that the Swedes wanted to study (or wanted to pass on to other customers).

How the cargo could pass the Estonian customs and be loaded aboard is unclear. Probably the Estonian customs officials were corrupt and didn't care what was being loaded as long as they were paid.

It could thus be anything - nuclear, chemical, biological, medical, narcotics, etc. One proposal is that it was anti-aircraft equipment (radars/robots) from Ukraine to be re-sold to Iraq and that it was a private Swedish/Iraqi deal by certain Swedish military officers (the equipment was supposed to be transported by air to Egypt from Sweden and then on by boat to Jordan and by truck to Iraq).

Another question is whether the shipping company, Estline, was informed of these unusual practices, i.e. that its vessel was used to transport military equipment of unknown nature? No doubt the senior officers aboard Estonia were informed and it should be the reason why 12 surviving Estonian crew members disappeared after the accident 1.46 and 1.41. They were prevented to testify about the stupid business.

According to Hirschfeldt, the cooperation agreement between the Swedish customs and defence authorities is still (2005) in force and secret. Actually everything is secret according to Swedish secrecy law 1980:100, chapter 2 -1,2 §§. No honest person has any possibility to find out what really happened by asking the Swedish authorities.

The confirmation that Estonia carried secret cargoes of contraband type should be further investigated. Latest information (May 2005) is that the military contraband was carried on a the Latvian heavy truck bound from the Ukraine (not confirmed) with registrations number AG 565 driven by Gunars Gobins, born 1964. The truck was passed and recorded by the Estonian customs (according to Hirschfeldt) and thus loaded on Estonia 27 September 1994 but the ship owners never registered the truck in the loading bill and never informed the Swedish customs (or the accident Commission) that the truck was aboard. It should be fairly easy to find out the background of Gunars Gobins and his truck.

According to the article "Death in the Baltic: the MI6 connection" written by Mr. Stephen Davis of New Statesman, in May 23, 2005, it is the British intelligence who was involved in the smuggling.

As shown in other chapters of the book Disaster Investigation where the origin of this material comes from, Swedish Navy divers visited the wreck the week after the accident. They apparently tried to enter the car deck to remove cargo. At the same time they removed the visor using explosives. The visor then fell to the sea floor below the bow. Then the Commission was apparently ordered to blame the accident on the visor and its defective Germans locks manufactured 15 years earlier.

Dangerous goods may have contributed to the accident.