The fire in April 1990 killed 159 people. Most of them were Norwegians, but Swedes and Danes were also among the dead.
Survivors and relatives of the victims have jointly claimed the equivalent of 600,000 kronor each in damages, saying the Danish Maritime Authority had not carried out sufficient supervision. On 20 May, the authority was acquitted in the first instance by the county court.
The ferry had been deployed on the Oslo–Fredrikshamn route a week before the fire disaster and the newly hired crew had not conducted a fire drill.
The acquittal is being appealed, a lawyer representing survivors and relatives told the Ritzau news agency.
