The image below shows the situation in October 1994 during the second - official – ROV inspection:

The two images on the following page are from June 1996 and still show the steel flap at the lower part of the damage to be in place (see arrows 1).

The steel flap is obviously still in place and the visible damage as well as the position of the bow ramp appears unchanged – see arrow 2.
When the divers came in August 2000, however, the situation had changed significantly: the steel flap was gone. The arrow points to the edge, where the steel flap had been cut off.