Capsizing. The ship left her berth in Zeebrugge inner harbour at 18:05 (GMT) with a crew of 80 and carrying 459 passengers, 81 cars, three buses and 47 trucks. She passed the outer mole at 18:24 (GMT) and capsized about four minutes later.
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A public court of inquiry into the disaster placed the blame on three of the ferry's staff: assistant boatswain Mark Stanley, who failed to close the bow doors after falling asleep in his cabin during a short break; first officer Leslie Sabel, who failed to ensure the bow doors were closed; and captain David Lewry for ...
The 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 March 6, 1987, killing 193 passengers and crew.
The Crown Prosecution Service charged P&O European Ferries with corporate manslaughter in 1989 and seven employees with manslaughter. The case collapsed but it set a precedent for corporate manslaughter being legally admissible in an English court.
On Oct.20, 1976, the worst ferry disaster in the history of the United States occurred on the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish. Seventy-seven lives were lost.
The Herald of Free Enterprise was a roro ferry owned by the former ferry company Townsend Thoresen. She was part of the Spirit Class of ferries and had two other sister ships, the Pride of Free Enterprise and the Spirit of Free Enterprise.
The Pride of Bruges and the Pride of York sailed nightly between Hull and Zeebrugge in Belgium until P&O Ferries ended the service in January due to a drop in demand. The ships, which can carry more than 1,000 passengers and 850 cars, are listed on a German shipbrokers website.