Herald of Free Enterprise

Rare card · No. 63853

MS Herald of Free Enterprise was a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry which capsized moments after leaving the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on the night of 6 March 1987, killing 193 passengers and crew. The eight-deck car and passenger ferry was owned by Townsend Thoresen, designed for rapid loading and unloading on the competitive cross-channel route between Dover and Calais. As is common with RORO ferries, it was built with watertight compartments terminating below the vehicle deck, with the doors at the end of the vehicle deck becoming vital to avoiding uncontrolled flooding. The ship left harbour with her bow door open, and the sea immediately flooded the vehicle deck; within minutes, she was lying on her side in shallow water. The immediate cause of the capsizing was found to be negligence by the assistant boatswain, who was asleep in his cabin when he should have been closing the bow door. The official inquiry, however, placed more blame on his supervisors and a general culture of poor communication...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Franz Golhen, Public domain