The disaster claimed the lives of 193 passengers and crew members, and it remains one of the worst maritime accidents in European history.
The MS Herald of Free Enterprise was carrying 459 passengers and crew members, as well as dozens of cars and other vehicles, when it left Zeebrugge bound for Dover, England. However, just minutes after leaving port, the vessel capsized due to a combination of factors, including a lack of ballast in the ship’s bow doors, which had been left open, and a failure to properly secure the vessel’s hull doors.
