A total of 193 people died in the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, which involved the capsizing of the MS Herald of Free Enterprise on March 6, 1987. The British ferry had just departed the Belgian port of Zeebrugge for Dover when it capsized in just 90 seconds. The disaster occurred because the bow doors had been left open, allowing massive amounts of water to flood the car deck as the ship gained speed. Most of the victims succumbed to hypothermia in the freezing North Sea waters or drowned while trapped inside the ship’s dark, overturned hull. The tragedy remains one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in British history and led to significant changes in international safety regulations for "Roll-on/Roll-off" (RORO) ferries. In 2026, the event is still studied as a definitive case in "human factors" engineering, highlighting how a simple lapse in communication—failing to confirm the doors were closed—can lead to catastrophic loss of life.