The following page contains a very detailed drawing of the upper part of the starboard front bulkhead, which is based on the video footage taken in 1994, 1996 and 2000. It shows details which were existing in October 1994 and still existed in June 1996, but had disappeared in August 2000. This refers in particular to the forecastle deck plating pushed together as indicated by arrows 2 on the drawing and the big steel flap indicated by arrows 10 on the same drawing.

While the steel flap – arrows 10 – was evidently cut off, it is not possible to determine what happened to the pushed together part of the forecastle deck – arrows 2 – which was part of the front bulkhead, because the footage produced in August 2000 is insufficient. The reader will note that the drawing does not show the bow ramp, because otherwise the inner side of the front bulkhead with recess -  indicated by the arrows 7 and 9 (right side) -  would not be visible as this area is in reality overlapped by the bow ramp – less in 1994/ 1996 but substantially more in August 2000.

It has to be noted further, that the area covered by the drawing is shown by the images on page 71, i.e. the upper one shows the lower burst open part with the missing steel flap whilst the lower image shows the same area looking upwards (vessel in normal condition). Evidently the bulkhead is bulged outward considerably indicating that the explosion(s) which have apparently caused this damage did occur only after the visor had moved sufficiently far away from the front bulkhead and thereafter never came close enough to make contact with the bulkhead. The consequences of this conclusion are explained in Chapter C 17 – Further Considerations concerning the possible Sinking Scenario.
It is recommended to the reader to look at the drawing on page 74 when viewing the following pages with the respective images.