ARTICLE: The "Herald of the Free Enterprise" Disaster (1987)

Vessel: "Herald of the Free Enterprise"

Year: 1987

Place: Zeebrugge, Belgium

Incident: Sinking

Loss: 193 lives (passengers and crew)

Cause: Crew negligence, insufficient safety procedures, bad vessel design

Just after 6pm on 6 March 1987 this Ro/Ro ferry left the port of Zeebrugge headed for Dover. A crewmember had fallen asleep and the crewmember who was supposed to check on him did not. THe ferry had left port with its bow doors open. Just minutes after leaving the port the ship began taking on large amount of water. Within 45 seconds it had sunk, leaving 193 passengers and crew dead.

This was the worst disaster on a British ship since the Titanic.* The incident helped bring about the ISM code to attempt to ensure that something similar never happened again.

* Not including wartime events.

Q: What is the Difference Between a Boat, a Ship and a Vessel?

Vessel is a catch-all term, like 'watercraft', which describes any floating object used for the carriage of people or goods. Generally smaller and less complex vessels are 'boats', whilst larger and more complex vessels are 'ships'. As a general rule, you can put a boat on a ship, but you can't put a ship on a boat. 

Specifically, boats are small to medium-sized vessels with hulls,* powered by sails, engines, or human force. Some types of vessel are always categorised as boats, regardless of their size or complexity.** Their 'boat' status was designated when these types of vessel were small and has stuck despite their future growth.

A ship is a larger vessel, built to transport either passengers or cargo. These types of vessel started off large and accordingly we talk of a cruiseships, containerships and a battleships.

* a raft, for instance, has no hull; it would therefore be incorrect to call it a boat - hence 'life raft'.
**  submarines, fishing boats, tugs and barges for example.


(Image Credit: John Keogh)