JAIC states that the visor fell of as a result of large payloads from waves hitting the visor. The visor could not stand the payloads and the bottom lock, also called Atlantic lock, broke permitting the visor to open and close when hitting the waves. After a while the visor upper hinges broke and the visor fell forward and in the same time opened the bow ramp fully.
Now to the facts. There was never a storm during the accident, the wind was hard but not more than around 15 m/sec. The storm came in the morning with winds from 20 - 25 m/sec. The weather condition during the early night and until M/V Estonia had sunk was hard but nothing more than normal for the ship. The weather condition has been dramatized during the investigation to fit the theory how the visor could fell off.
The wave condition was not as bad as the picture from the investigation. M/V Estonia was sailing on deeper water than other ships compared with (Mariella and Silja Europa), and therefore the sea was not so bad as towards the Finnish cost.
The damages on the visor clearly show that the visor must have fallen of when the ship already had a list of 30 - 40 degrees to starboard. There are a lot of investigation done on the visor. One of the most interesting is that they have come to the conclusion in the supplements to the final report, the port side lock broke first, thereafter the top port hinge. And this is very close of what should be a fact if the visor fell off when the ship was listing to starboard. As it does not fit the theory they (JAIC) say in the supplement that in spite of the conclusion, it may have been the bottom lock that broke first, and this becomes the official statement.
The fact is that the visor fell off as a result of the list and also because of very poorly made repairs in the upper hinges.
