I continued reading, what a rabbit hole. Apparently the cause of MS Estonia's sinking, as documented in that Atlantic article, is bogus.
New evidence points to a submarine collision and tampering of evidence in the initial 1994 investigation:
* https://news.err.ee/1140442/head-of-ms-estonia-investigation...
* https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/04/maybe-now-well...
The whole shebang, with "crazy conspiracy theories", ridiculed for decades for claiming a hole in the hull and weapons transported onboard, now vindicated. What a mess.
> Thiger heard a clear comment from only one passenger, a man nearby, who joked, "Ha! Now we have sailed against an iceberg!" and took another gulp of beer. The singing continued unabated.
Surely, this couldn't be happening to us!