''Baltic Storm'' is a 2003 film written and directed by

Reuben Leder Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...

about the 1994 MS ''Estonia'' disaster. Based on the book ''Die Estonia: Tragödie eines Schiffsuntergangs'' by German journalist

Jutta Rabe Jutta Rabe (born 1955) is a German journalist and a former treasurer of the Berlin chapter of the German Federation of Journalists. Life Jutta Rabe studied economy and journalism. She worked as a freelancer for the German TV-magazine Spiege ...

, the film focuses on the supposed transport of defense materials by the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

, and alleged

cover-up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...

of the true cause of the disaster.

Plot

The plot portrays the Swedish government as being responsible for using the ship to covertly transport Russian high-tech components to the United States. The story is uncovered by a young female journalist, not unlike Rabe herself. According to Rabe, divers hired by the Swedish government (signing contracts swearing lifetime secrecy) spent hours breaking into cabins frantically searching for a black attaché case carried by a Russian space technology dealer, Aleksandr Voronin (who died 2002). She highlighted US interest in various Soviet technology, including nuclear-powered satellites. She also suggested that panic about the stability of some form of nuclear device is the most likely reason behind the initial Swedish government suggestion of burying the wreck in concrete, a highly unusual proposal for a wreck, reminiscent of

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

Cast

External links

* * British thriller drama films German thriller drama films English-language German films 2003 films Films set in Estonia MS Estonia Films based on non-fiction books Films set in 1994 2000s thriller films Films set in the Baltic Sea Films about seafaring accidents or incidents 2000s English-language films 2000s British films 2000s German films {{2000s-thriller-film-stub