Who was responsible for the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster?
The capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise revealed negligence involving the ship's crew as well as the significant responsibility of the management of the company operating the ship for the accident.
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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 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.
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.
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.
The direct cause of the disaster was human error: the assistant bosun, responsible for closing the bow doors of this roll-on/roll-off ferry, had fallen asleep in his cabin and slept through the alarm telling crew that the ship was sailing.
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.
Within half an hour, the seriously damaged Gateway had turned on its side in the shallow waters and capsized. After an order was made to abandon ship, the crew and lorry drivers ended up in the water. There were 70 people on board. Two lorry drivers and four crew members died that night.
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.
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.