On 28 September the ferry Estonia sank in minutes in the Baltic Sea with the loss of 900 lives. It was the second major accident involving roll-on roll-off passenger ferries in seven years. Jane Corbin reports on the failure of governments and ferry companies to address the real problem of these vessels - their design, which makes them fatally vulnerable once water gets onto the car deck. Why were warnings ignored and why have considerations of cost been allowed to prevail over safety at sea?