Herald of Free Enterprise Capsize, Zeebrugge
6 March 1987 · Zeebrugge, Belgium
The roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized minutes after leaving Zeebrugge because her bow doors had been left open, allowing water to flood the car deck. 193 passengers and crew died.
Why it matters
A defining Ro-Ro ferry disaster. Together with the later Estonia (1994) loss it drove major SOLAS changes on car-deck flooding (the Stockholm Agreement), damage stability standards for passenger ships, and strengthened safety-management and reporting requirements.