- The buoy plays a major role in our investigation, but we can not yet say at what stage Amorella hit the buoy and what role it has in the course of events, says the Accident Investigation Center's director Veli-Pekka Nurmi to the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet.
The ice buoy is steel-constructed and anchored to the bottom with chains.
It was destroyed in the incident and has been replaced on Monday.
Amorella remains aground near the island of Järsö in the Åland archipelago.
According to the shipping company, the ship has several holes in different sizes.
It will take time to clarify the extent of the damage and what has led to the incident, says Eleonora Hansi, information manager for Viking Line Scandinavia.
- We had divers on site last night and they could see that there is some damage to the ship, she says.
Tugboat on site
A tugboat is on site at the ship, which will eventually be taken to Naantali for repair.
- Our goal right now is to take Amorella on for repairs as soon as possible, but even that needs to be investigated first, how to do it best based on the damage situation.
The ship has taken in water and, according to the shipping company, stands firmly on a soft clay bottom.
Eleonora Hansi emphasizes that there is no set timetable that shows exactly what time what will happen in the future.
- We are working on as soon as we can and the investigation must take the time needed for us to receive clear information.
According to people who were on board at the time of the accident, things went smoothly at the incident, when about 200 passengers and around 80 people in the crew were on the ship.
No injuries were reported and no one was injured.
- It was calm and quiet on the water and in the middle of the day, so in that way the conditions were a little easier than if it had been different weather or time of day, says Eleonora Hansi.
"Extraordinary"
The passengers, most from Sweden and Finland, were picked up on Sunday from the ship with the sea rescue smaller boats.
They were then taken to different terminals depending on where they were going next.
Some have been allowed to sleep in hotels and others will be on their way home if they are not already at home.
This type of event is unusual.
- This is very extraordinary.
This is a ship that goes this route every day all year round and it is very unusual for something deviating to happen at all, says Hansi.
The further investigation is carried out by the shipping company in collaboration with several authorities, primarily the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.