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.

Yes, ferries have sunk throughout history, and some of these events represent the deadliest maritime disasters in history. Because ferries often operate in crowded coastal waters and carry a mix of vehicles and passengers, they are susceptible to specific risks. The most common causes of ferry sinkings include "overloading" (especially in regions with lax regulation), "free surface effect" (where water enters the car deck and sloshes around, causing the ship to capsize), and collisions. The 1987 sinking of the MV Doña Paz in the Philippines is the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster, with an estimated 4,386 deaths. More recently, the 1994 sinking of the MS Estonia in the Baltic Sea and the 2014 MV Sewol disaster in South Korea led to major international overhauls in ferry safety standards. In 2026, modern ferries are built with "double hulls" and advanced stability sensors, but the high-profile nature of these past tragedies continues to drive rigorous safety inspections and strict passenger-count monitoring by maritime authorities worldwide.