MS Herald of Free Enterprise
Herald of Free Enterprise in Dover's Eastern Docks, 1984
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Operator: | Townsend Thoresen (1980–1987) |
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| Builder: | Schichau Unterweser, Bremerhaven, Germany |
| Launched: | 1980 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 7820485 |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | RORO car and passenger ferry |
| Tonnage: | 13,601 brt |
| Length: | 131.91 m (432 ft 9 in) |
| Beam: | 23.19 m (76 ft 1 in) |
| Draught: | 5.72 m (18 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power: | 23,967bhp |
| Propulsion: | 3 x Sulzer 12ZV 40/48 diesel engines |
| Speed: | 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) |
| Capacity: | 1,400 |
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.
The modern 8-deck car and passenger ferry, owned by Townsend Thoresen, 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 its bow-door open, the sea immediately flooded the decks, and within minutes it was lying on its side in shallow water.
Although the immediate cause of the sinking was found to be negligence by the assistant boatswain, asleep in his cabin when he should have been closing the bow-door, the official inquiry placed more blame on his supervisors and a general culture of poor communication in Townsend Thoresen.
The vessel was salvaged and put up for sale, and on September 30, 1987, was sold to Naviera SA Kingstown, and was renamed Flushing Range. Then on March 22, 1988, she was taken to Taiwan to be broken up.
Since the disaster, improvements have been made to the design of RORO vessels, with watertight ramps, indicators showing the position of the bow-doors, and the banning of undivided decks.
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 name "Free Enterprise" dates from Townsend Car Ferries' pioneering private sector roll on / roll off ferries, introduced in 1962. The Herald began active service on 29 May 1980.
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