MS Herald of Free Enterprise - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Herald_of_Free_Enterprise Coordinates: 51°22′28.5″N 3°11′26″E From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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.[1] The modern 8-deck car and passenger ferry, owned by P&O, had been designed for rapid loading and unloading on the competitive cross-channel route, and there were no watertight compartments. When the ship left harbour with her bow-door open, the sea immediately flooded the decks, and within minutes she was lying on her side in shallow Herald of Free Enterprise in Dover's Eastern Docks, water. 1984 The immediate cause of the sinking was found to be Career negligence by the assistant boatswain, asleep in his cabin (United when he should have been closing the bow-door. But the Kingdom) official inquiry placed more blame on his supervisors and a Name: Herald of Free Enterprise general culture of poor communication in the ferry company (1980-1987) P&O European Ferries, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Flushing Range (1987-1988) Owner: P&O (1980-1987) Although the vessel was salvaged and put up for sale, there Compania Naviera S.A. (1987-1988) were no takers, and she ended her days in a scrapyard in Taiwan. Operator: P&O Port of Dover, UK Since the disaster, improvements have been made to the registry: Kingstown, Saint Vincent design of RORO vessels, with watertight ramps, indicators showing the position of the bow-doors, and the banning of Builder: Schichau Unterweser, Bremerhaven, undivided decks. Germany Launched: 1980 This incident caused the highest death-count of any Identification: IMO number: 7820485 peacetime maritime disaster involving a British ship since the sinking of the RMS Empress of Ireland in 1914. (http://www.marinetraffic.com /ais/shipdetails.aspx?imo=7820485) Fate: Capsized 6 March 1987 Raised and scrapped in 1988 General characteristics 1 Design and construction Class & type: RORO car and passenger ferry 2 Capsizing Tonnage: 13,601 brt 2.1 Background Length: 131.91 m (432 ft 9 in) 2.2 Sinking Beam: 23.19 m (76 ft 1 in) 2.3 Investigation and inquiry Draught: 5.72 m (18 ft 9 in) 3 Aftermath Propulsion: 3 x Sulzer 12ZV 40/48 1 of 9 7/27/2014 11:28 PM MS Herald of Free Enterprise - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Herald_of_Free_Enterprise 3.1 Immediate Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) 3.2 Long term Capacity: 1,400 3.3 Disaster Action 3.4 Gallantry awards 4 See also 4.1 Sister ships 5 References 6 External links In the late 1970s, Townsend Thoresen commissioned the design and construction of three new identical ships for its Dover–Calais route for delivery from 1980. The ships were branded the Spirit-class and were named Herald of Free Enterprise, Pride of Free Enterprise and Spirit of Free Enterprise. The Dover–Calais crossing of the Channel is the shortest route between England and France, and in 1987 (prior to the opening of the Channel Tunnel) it was the quickest route. To remain competitive with other ferry operators on the route, Townsend Thoresen required ships which were designed to permit fast loading and unloading and quick acceleration. The ships comprised eight decks numbered A to H from top to bottom which contained the following: A deck: Crew accommodation and radio room B deck: Crew accommodation and galley C deck: Passenger areas and galley D deck: Suspended vehicle deck within E deck E deck: Upper vehicle deck F deck: Mezzanine level G deck: Main vehicle deck H deck: Engine rooms, stores and passenger accommodation Loading of vehicles onto G deck was through watertight doors at the bow and stern. Both sets of doors were hinged about a vertical axis, meaning the status of the bow doors could not be seen from the wheel house. Loading of vehicles onto E deck and F deck was through a weathertight door at the bow and an open portal at the stern. Vehicles could be loaded and unloaded onto E and G deck simultaneously using double-deck linkspans in use at Dover and Calais. The ships were constructed by Schichau-Unterweser AG in Bremerhaven, Germany. Background 2 of 9 7/27/2014 11:28 PM MS Herald of Free Enterprise - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Herald_of_Free_Enterprise On the day the ferry capsized, the Herald of Free Enterprise was working the route between Dover and the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. This was not its normal route and the linkspan at Zeebrugge had not been designed specifically for the Spirit class vessels: it used a single deck, preventing the simultaneous loading of both E and G decks, and the ramp could not be raised high enough to reach E deck.[2][3] To compensate for this, the vessel's bow ballast tanks were filled.[2] However, the ship's natural trim was not restored after loading.[2] Had the Herald survived, she would have been modified to obviate this procedure.[3] Before dropping moorings, it was normal practice for the assistant boatswain to close the doors. However, the assistant boatswain, Mark Stanley, had returned to his cabin for a short break after cleaning the car deck upon arrival, and was still asleep when the harbour-stations call sounded and the ship dropped her moorings.[4] The first officer, Leslie Sabel, was required to stay on deck to make sure the doors were closed.[5] Sabel said he thought he saw Stanley approaching. He was seriously injured in the disaster and the court concluded that his evidence was inaccurate.[5] It's believed that under pressure to get to his harbour station on the bridge, he had left G deck with the bow doors open in the expectation that Stanley would arrive shortly.[5] The court also described the attitude of boatswain Terence Ayling, believed to have been the last person on G deck, as most unfortunate.[5] Asked why he did not close the doors given there was no one else there to do it, he said it was not his duty.[5] However the court praised his work in the rescue.[5] Captain David Lewry assumed that the doors had been closed since he could not see them from the wheelhouse owing to the ship's design, and had no indicator lights in the wheelhouse.[6] Sinking The ship left its berth in Zeebrugge inner harbour at 18:05 (GMT) with a crew of 80 and carrying 459 passengers, 81 cars, 3 buses and 47 trucks. She passed the outer mole at 18:24 and capsized about four minutes later.[7] When the ferry reached 18.9 knots (35.0 km/h; 21.7 mph) 90 seconds after leaving the harbour, water began to enter the car deck in large quantities. The resulting free surface effect destroyed her stability. In a matter of seconds, the ship began to list 30 degrees to port. The ship briefly righted herself before listing to port once more, this time capsizing. The entire event took place within 90 seconds.[8] The water quickly reached the ship's electrical systems, destroying both main and emergency power and leaving the ship in darkness. The ship ended on its side half-submerged in shallow water 1 kilometre (0.5 nmi; 0.6 mi) from the shore. Only a fortuitous turn to starboard in her last moments, and then capsizing on a sandbar, prevented the ship from sinking entirely in much deeper water. Crew aboard a nearby dredger noticed the Herald's lights disappear, and notified the port authorities. The alarm was raised at 18:26 British time (or 19:26 Belgian time). A rescue helicopter arrived within half an hour, shortly followed by assistance from the Belgian Navy, who were undertaking an exercise within the area. Wolfgang Schröder, a German Captain, was commended by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and received a medal from King Baudouin of Belgium for his heroic efforts in rescuing passengers.[9] The disaster resulted in the deaths of 193 people. Many of those on board had taken advantage of a promotion in The Sun newspaper offering cheap trips to the continent. Most of the victims were trapped inside the ship and succumbed to hypothermia because of the frigid (3 °C) water. The rescue efforts of the Belgian Navy limited 3 of 9 7/27/2014 11:28 PM MS Herald of Free Enterprise - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Herald_of_Free_Enterprise the death toll. Recoverable bodies were removed in the days following the accident. During the rescue the tide started to rise and the rescue team was forced to stop all efforts until morning. The last of the people left on board died of hypothermia. Investigation and inquiry A public Court of Inquiry into the incident was held under British Lord Justice Sir Barry Sheen in 1987.[10] It found the sinking was caused by three main factors—Stanley's failure to close the bow doors, Sabel's failure to make sure the bow doors were closed, and Lewry leaving port without knowing the bow doors were not closed. While the court determined the immediate cause of the sinking 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 sinking.[5] The fact that Stanley was asleep at the time of departure led Sheen to examine the working practices of Townsend Thoresen, from which he concluded that the poor workplace communication and stand-off relationship between ship operators and shore-based managers was the root cause of the sinking,[4] and identified a "disease of sloppiness" and negligence at every level of the corporation's