In March 1987 the roll on, roll off ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise set sail from Dover to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. Due to a combination of catastrophic oversights, she had sailed with the bow doors to the car deck wide open.

Seconds after leaving port she began to take on water and listed hard. Within a minute she had capsized onto a sandbar; it was only this shallower water which prevented further loss of life. 193 people died, most of them trapped on board in freezing water.

Site Map Navigate site Welcome Medieval Travel