Was anyone prosecuted for Zeebrugge?

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.



Following the MS Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987, which claimed 193 lives near Zeebrugge, there was a high-profile attempt at prosecution, but it ultimately failed to result in convictions. In 1990, a landmark corporate manslaughter case was brought against P&O European Ferries (formerly Townsend Thoresen) and seven employees, including the Captain and the Assistant Boatswain who had fallen asleep and failed to close the bow doors. However, the trial collapsed when the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove "recklessness" on the part of the senior management. While no one was jailed, the Formal Investigation led by Mr. Justice Sheen was scathing, describing the company as "infected with the disease of sloppiness" from top to bottom. This failure to prosecute led directly to a change in UK law, eventually resulting in the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, designed to make it easier to hold companies accountable for gross negligence in the future.

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Investigation and inquiry While the court determined the immediate cause of the capsizing was Stanley's failure to close the bow doors, it was very critical of Sabel for not being in a position to prevent the disaster, calling his actions the most immediate cause of the capsizing.

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Mark Stanley, the assistant bosun on the day of the tragedy, died in hospital on July 20, aged 58. He had not closed the bow doors when the ship set sail and he had been haunted by the tragedy, which was said to have severely affected his health, working life and family. Mr Stanley had fallen asleep in his cabin.

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Sue and the children were each offered a pounds 5,000 fixed payment for being aboard the Herald of Free Enterprise when it capsized.

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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.

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But only three of them made it back. Their day of fun turned into a day of horror within 90 seconds as the ship capsized, killing 193 people, including Miles' best friend Martin Spooner.

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Carly Zutic, from Dumfries, Scotland passed away suddenly at her home after a long battle with drug addiction, the Daily Record reported. Carly was just nine weeks old when she survived the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise in March 1987.

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A combination of procedural errors and oversights and the design of the ferry itself caused the vehicle deck to flood, after the ferry set sail with the bow doors open.

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Zeebrugge is a city in West-Flanders, Belgium. It has many popular attractions, including St. Donatian's Cathedral, De Fonteintjes, Visserskruis, making it well worth a visit.

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She capsized on June 21, 2008, off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon, at the height of Typhoon Frank, which passed directly over Romblon as a Category 2 storm. Of the 849 persons on board, only 32 survived, 227 died and 592 were reported missing.

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As a RORO ferry rolls, vehicles can break free and slide down if not firmly secured, adversely altering the ship's centre of gravity, accelerating the roll, and possibly turning an otherwise recoverable roll into a capsize.

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The Herald had 459 passengers, 80 crew members, 81 cars, 47 cargo trucks and three other vehicles. The weather was good. The Herald passed the outer breakwater at 1824 and, about four minutes later, capsized.

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MS Free Enterprise (I) was a cross-Channel ferry operated by Townsend Brothers and later Townsend Thoresen between 1962 and 1980. She was their first purpose built roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferry. She was sold to Greece in 1980, where she served until being sold for scrap in 2013.

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