Immediately after the ferry Estonia sank, one of the ship's two owners caused an outcry with his tough, businesslike attitude toward the tragedy.
Now, he has apologized."What has happened cannot be undone. But what has been said can perhaps be forgotten. Let me, from the bottom of my heart, say forgive me," Ronald Bergman, head of the Nordstrom and Thulin ferry and shipping company, said in a statement Thursday.
After the Estonia sank on Sept. 28 off the Finnish coast, killing more than 900 people, Bergman infuriated Swedes by saying the accident wouldn't stop a profitable business venture.
Nordstrom and Thulin owned and operated the ship in a joint venture with the Estonian government called Estline.
Bergman said that "people don't stop flying" just because there's an airplane crash. And the company assured shareholders the Estonia was well-insured.
Most of those killed on the ship were Swedes, and virtually everyone in this country of 8.5 million was touched by the tragedy.
In his statement Thursday, Bergman said the company is pulling out of passenger ferry traffic on the Baltic Sea. The statement said the company planned to divest its passenger ferry share in Estline.
"I am deeply shaken by this incredible accident," Bergman said. "Nothing can hide the fact that a shipping company has responsibility for its passenger safety."
An estimated 190 Estline employees were on the Estonia, and many of them were killed.
The accident left Estline without a passenger ferry. A new one has been ordered and is due to start traveling between Stockholm and Tallinn, Estonia, later this month.