Justice versus conscience

I think I finally figured out what makes your videos particularly so frightning. I think it’s how.. Factual, you are. You aren’t trying to make it creepy or horrific, nor are you making jokes in bad taste. These are just the facts of how these things happened, in a calm, stern, factual voice. The facts themselves are the horror. I love it.

My mother, heavily pregnant with me, was due to get on this ship but missed it due to being late and had to get on the next ferry. I was born on 19th March 1987, had she not been late that day, i likely wouldn’t have been.

Might I recommend the sinking of the Sewol Ferry. Corruption and cowardice led to hundreds of passengers, mostly high school students, losing their lives. I’ve only seen a handful of people cover it and it’s without a doubt one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard.

Pulling crushed or waterlogged bodies out of a ship a month after they drowned must not have been a pleasant experience. I hope the search team are okay after what they must have seen.

My boss was on that boat as a child. Lost his father and sister. We just happened to be talking about his wedding and he said that none of his family were there. I asked why. He then told the most absolutely tragic and terrifying story. Absolutely insane.

The most frightening part of this story is how easily a judge could decide that nobody had to go to jail.

My dad helped out in the rescue for passengers as his boat was entering when the ship capsized so they stopped to help get survivors off

Complacency is such a dangerous, and totally preventable, killer.

“Judge told the jury not to convict anyone.” Can I get an explainer on that, please?

as a survivor who was there the night of the capsize i’d like to thank you for a spot on facts documentary.i feel so sorry for mark stanley. les sable ect. like iv always told people when they ask what was it like .i always said that no one set out to kill over 200 (because there is evidence more died that night than the official number of dead ).mark stanley died last year.he was only in his 50’s the guilt he must have felt afterwards .My hart has always gone out to him. R.I.P. TO ALL WHO PERISHED AND ALL MY OTHER SURVIVORS.XXXX

The last bodies weren’t retrieved for a month. Imagine your daughter was on that ferry and you saw in the news what had happened, but her body was still there for a month on the boat, in the water, decomposing, and there was nothing you could do. What a cruel thing.

Don’t know what was more chilling, the first-hand account of the capsize, or the judge ordering the jury to acquit everyone involved. These big corporations literally get away with murder.

It took a while for the ship to be moved. The Herald of Free Enterprise was still in the water during August 1987, as I passed it on a ferry on my way out of Zeebrugge.

“floors become walls, walls become floors” damn

I don’t understand why they didn’t pump out the extra ballast they took on to load. That was obviously a huge contributing factor as well

I know this is an older video but i’m so glad I’ve found your channel I’m very interested in learning about these events but it’s hard to find videos that don’t contain commentary and filler if that makes sense? You go straight to the point and I love your narration. Keep up the good work!

This is heartbreaking. My condolences to the families of the lost.

I was booked to sail on this ferry, along with my Mum, step dad and baby brother. Due to an issue with swapping my stepdads car number plates from US military to German to import his car (we were returning to live in the UK but he was employed as a civilian with the US military) we had to delay moving back by 3 days. We sailed on The H.o.F.E. sister ferry, passing The H.o.F.E. as we did so. I think the angels were looking down on us that caused the delay, I’d hate to think what would have happened otherwise. The sinking stays with me to this day, it’s something I will never forget. R.I.P. to all the souls lost that tragic night and following day.

Wherever you are, look at exits – including windows, and think “what if I gotta get out of here ?”

My friend was on this he told me the whole story and one thing that sticks with me is when the ship was on its side he was using chairs to smash windows on side of ship that were now the ceiling , desperately lifting people through the broken window to stand on top of ship to wait for help . Rip all that died

“Here is an account of the incident from survivor, Simon Oswald…” *Rolos Christmas Commercial*

Much respect for using correct maritime lingo and giving these stories the gravity they deserve. You never revel in such gross loss of life and always tell the story in an impartial way without passing judgement. I am also impressed by how you refuse to go through the standard youtube rigmarole of asking for likes and subscribers, even though it probably hurts you metrics. In these videos it would not be appropriate. You have earned yourself a subscriber today.

A similar incident that you could possibly look into is the sinking of the Philippine ship, MV Princess of the Stars. The ship was allowed to sail through bad weather because the authorities were confident it would withstand heavy rain. Unfortunately, the typhoon, causing the bad weather, unexpectedly changed course making its path intersect with the ship’s course. Because of the typhoon, it took rescuers 3 days to reach the scene. It took 2 more years for the wreck to be cut open to access more bodies. The image of the ship’s bow, sticking upwards from the water while the rest of the ship was invisible, was very haunting.

I’ve known quite a few ferry workers over the years having grown up in Dover and they all tell tales about the drinking culture of the staff on those ferries. Staff received massive discounts on booze and often got very drink before or after their shifts. It was the done thing amongst the lads that worked there, and new starters were often ostracised if they didn’t join the drinking culture. Seems mad now, but it was just the way it was back then.

1500 new subs overnight? Someone has figured out that youtube algorithm! You deserve all this success!

This was 6 days before I was born, my father was in the merchant navy and so was my mother and both worked on the Herald but due to being pregnant with me and so close to due date she was not working. My father lost his life this day, they said it was probably due to the fall but ultimately would have drowned if he was knocked out. My mother said David Lewry the captain at the time is my god father and I do remember getting birthday/Xmas cards from that name as a kid. But… What a sad and so very avoidable day, thank you for the full and to me raw details about this. And rest in peace to all those who died on the Herald. You will not be forgotten.

Sounds like the judge received some compelling “evidence” in his bank account from the ferry company and felt obligated to order the acquittal of everyone on trial.

Prior to the Spirit class of ferries, of which the Herald of free enterprise was the second of three, ferries all had a visor type bow door, which was clearly visible from the bridge. On these ships, the outer bow doors slide aside, and are completely invisible from the bridge. Townsend Thoresen chose not to install indicator lights on the bridge, either due to cost, or oversight. As background, I worked for Townsend’s for a number of years, and knew the layout of the Spirit ships like the back of my hand. I worked on the Pride’s maiden voyage. I’ve never forgiven them for the friends I lost, or the hell they put people through. The second mate should have done time, and so should whoever approved the design of the ship. IMHO.

Why in so many of these cases are the people responsible absolved? I find that very disturbing.

This reminds me of the MS Estonia, although the cause of the flooding and nature of incident was totally different, the Estonia also sank in a VERY short amount of time after its bow clip came off, exposing the car deck to the waves. Those people had no chance; either your in a place where you can escape, or that’s it nothing can be done pitch black and world turned upside down. RIP to all of those who died this way.

My uncle used to be a diver and did maintenance in the area. He once told me “if you knew what was going on beneath the surface with those ferries, you’d never get on one again”

“Here’s an account from Simon Osborne…” Ad starts playing. “Tired of paying too much for your prescriptions?” Wait…what?

This is the best channel I’ve come across in ages!, its weird when a channel as good as this is hiding away despite me watching similar stuff for years!, Youtube needs to sort out it’s recommendations, the quality of this content and narration is undeniable!

My Dad lost two of his friends/colleagues in this disaster. The ferry was renamed Flushing Range, and apparently it was used for a while in Taiwan before it was scrapped.

If you;re wondering why you never heard much about this ship or any ship from the same company after this? thats because they quickly changed their name to? P&O Ferries.

I was engineer on a ro-ro frequently visiting Zeebrugge. We used to call those T-ferries an accident waiting to happen. Every time they left they did so full speed astern with their bow wide open, every goddamn time. Then a 180 degree turn just inside the breakwater and then full speed ahead out. We never, ever removed one single mooring line before every light on the bridge turned green conforming ramps and ports closed and locked. And we only carried cargo.

You know I never blame someone if they forgot to his switch or turn of valve and it causes a disaster because simple things like that can be missed. But I mean you had to knowingly open those tanks and fill them up. How can you just forget that they were opened and filled? That’s just straight-up negligence.

Have been in aircraft cargo operations for years. Cargo door closure (and locks down) has to be verified personally by 3 people, separately, who have to sign off on paper. Missing signatures in an audit is an immediate failure. There is an indicator in the cabin, but indicators fail, so double and triple in this case checks are required. Very simple. Why this approach isn’t required in ferry operations is very strange to me. Same thing happened in the Estonia disaster.

My mom was supposed to be on the boat to go and meet my dad, but was late and missed it. I cherish her and my dad everyday. Love your family, always.

I remember watching this unfold on TV at the time. Such a horrendous tragedy. RIP to those who lost their lives.

My mother and grandparents were on this ship a couple of weeks earlier. It was much calmer weather then. My grandpa recalls going down to the car deck shortly after departure to get something from his car. He noticed that the doors were still open… This was apparently normal practice

Of all the disasters I’ve heard about on this channel I’d say this one is the most blatantly avoidable

They tried to sell the ship, with a “You can repair her!”… Uh huh, why don’t you yourself then? Sells for scrap Thought so.

The narration on these vids is CRISP. Really nice.

The thing is, if I was caught asleep at work I would be sacked, so how the fk do these ppl who have very important jobs and peoples live’s in their hands get away with this crap, and as for the hearing what a waste of time that is. What’s the point if you can get away with peoples lives and their deaths through negligence, and no punishment. That’s done my head in that has

The most depressing part of the videos such as this one is the fact that the company/corporation responsible is ALMOST NEVER punished. Their greed, their incompetence – ultimately rewarded. They can keep on cutting corners and promoting incompetence. They know they won’t go to jail.

I remember this happening, I was so worried my friend was on board, I have always been nervous about getting on a ferry after this.

I can’t even imagine what this would feel like for everything to change in a matter of seconds and to be literally flung across a steel structure with 0 warning…

You and That Chapter are two of the best channels on this site. I cannot get enough of it! Thank you for all you do!

As a fan of these “horror stories” – an editor and VO artist —-BRAVO. Love your channel. Excellent research, too – in all your videos. Hard to find these days

The Herald of Free Enterprise was towed to Sloehaven (harbour) in Vlissingen after being refloated. I didn’t know it was there and saw a ship in the harbour, I think they painted over the name but it was still visible. It was quite a shock to suddenly see this ship in which a lot of people had lost their life.

FH: “An eight-story ferry…” Me: That seems way too tall FH: “… capsized.” Me: Oh.

“The Herald of Free Enterprise” cost hundreds of lives due to carelessness and the pursuit of profit. A bit too poetic.

These stories fascinate me. I’ve been on the water, and it’s a lonely feeling to be out there, no help in sight. I live near the Pacific Ocean and won’t go past the beach. That water is so powerful.

I could literally feel the Squat Effect as you described it. You’re an amazing narrator

I really love your channel. You deserve x1000+ more subs & I look forward to see it happening.. Thank You for all your hard work.

“ A judge ordered the jury to acquit all concerned”. How nice of him – I bet he’d have had another view if any of his family were on board. Just typical of the lousy judicial system. Why bother wasting time, money and effort in having a jury if some muppet is going to overrule it anyway. Stinks of bribery and corruption at the highest level.

I always remember the story of the Herald, eventhough I wasn’t even alive back then, because it really had an impact on Belgium. We didn’t think something like this was possible in our small coutry.

I went on the ferry that went after this. My parents didn’t want my brother and I to worry so didn’t tell us until we were getting off in Belgium.

I was working that night on the Free Enterprise 6 as a chef, also coming back from Zeebrugge. My 2 brothers where also on 2 other Townsend ferries coming from Zeebrugge too. I’ll never forget as our Captain announced over the crew tannoy system that one of our ferries had capsized just outside the harbour. No name of the vessel was given, so i didn’t even know at that time if one of my brothers was on the boat that sunk. We were around 30 minutes ahead of the FE8, yet a discussion had been made to carry on with our journey rather than turn around to offer aid. We were told to resume passenger services and not to mention what we knew. so for almost a further 4 hours we tried to carry on as if nothing had happened, yet many of us had family and friends working all over the fleet. Luckily when we arrived in Dover it was the end of our shift, so i was able to drive to my Mums house in Folkestone, it was only when i arrived that i actually knew both of my brothers were safe, but with the news of it being the FE8, told me that i had indeed lost many of my colleges or rather friends, that worked in the galley of the ship (none survived). I said goodbye to almost 20 friends that night. The next few weeks after was very painful for all the crew as we passed by the FE8 six times a day, seeing the boat on its side. I lost my cool one day with around 30 passengers on deck, all taking photos of the capsized ferry, calling them vultures. For which I received a Captains logging (3 and you’re out). Yes i deserved it as i wasn’t professional enough, but it was so hard seeing that 6 times a day, day in day out for a month. I’ll never forget that night, nor will i forget those friends and passengers that lost their lives. Thank you for covering this, however i do feel you left out so much, but then even i know that much was covered up .it is what it is. So thank you.

Geeze, I remember this on the local news. The doors being wide open was the one thing that stuck in my memory, and I recall seeing that ferry on it’s side photo for the next couple of days.

The ferry Estonia also sank very quickly, which is still a bit a mystery to this day , but at least we know the causes of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster . With lessons learnt .

I remember this being huge news. Such a sad event, terrifying too.

“…the case quickly collapsed when the judge ordered the jury to acquit all concerned parties.” Wait, WHAT?! Since when does the judge get to tell the jury who to charge and who to acquit?! That defeats the entire purpose of having a jury to begin with! “Thank you, jurors, for hearing this case… Have you come to a verdict? Well, guess what? Turns out it doesn’t matter, because you’re all going to acquit the defendants anyway!” What the hell was the point in even having a trial to begin with? So the judge and the lawyers could run off with a fat paycheck while the charged parties walked away scott-free? What a joke!

I was on that ferry in 1981 as a young boy travelling with a school party to Zeebrugge. Its unfortunate and deeply sad that these catastrophes happen to enact change in safe operation. Like all the plane crashes in the past have now led to very few in this age. luckily we learn lessons and dont repeat

I remember this disaster so well. Absolutely horrendous and so heartbreaking for all involved.

I was on Townsend Thorensen ferry in the early eighties (can’t remember the ship’s name) crossing to the other side of the channel. The only memory I have of that trip was the ‘horror’ as the ship neared the port. I was on the car deck waiting to board our coach and the bow doors opened some way from port. Seeing the vast expanse of sea so near so close right in front of us was very scary indeed, something I have never forgotten til this day. Apparently, bow doors were opened early to help with the turnaround times of the ship arriving and leaving the ports. The disaster would have happened sooner or later. The eighties as a whole saw a whole host of tragedies. From Piper Alpha in the North Sea, King’s Cross tube, Clapham Junction, Bradford Football stadium, Hillsborough football to name but a few. So many died.

My Father survived this disaster due to fog in Belgium on its way to the ferry, he came late and missed it. So came late can save your life sometimes.

I came across on the same ship a few months before just after the new year. Some of the crew were clearly drunk and I witnessed a shouting argument between one of the deck officers and a deck hand. Bad attitude was everywhere and I certainly didn’t get the impression the ship was well operated, I suspect that this general state of bad discipline led to the eventual disaster.

the music in these videos is haunting and ominous, yet eerily calming–which just adds to the overall horror of these tragic stories

ah, another great episode! good job

“The Judge ordered the Jury to acquit all concerned”.. wait, what? I’ve heard of corruption but how can this happen in such an obvious case of neglect?

Glad I’m not alone in my new obsession. Thank you for these beautiful tributes, I’ve needed you. ❤️

I lived in the same village as Mark .. he was a lovely lad and was used as a scape coat for others

My grandad was on this ship, never met him, he died before I had been born. He was a lorry driver, and probably asleep while it happened. Years later my grandma got dementia and eventually her memory reverted to thinking he was still alive. We’d visit her in the nursing home and she’d ask us where he was, and say she’d excited for him to come home. Was definitely not expecting to see this come up on a channel I had just been binging, has changed my reaction of watching these from interested to sad.

You might want to cover MS Estonia disaster, especially since the new Swedish investigation is out.

I remember when this happened. The negligence of leaving those doors open was astounding.

Binge-watching and came across this video. Insane to think something like this happened a mere 35 minute drive from me and I have never heard from it before. Very informative videos. Subscribed.

I’m addicted to your channel. Haven’t stopped watching since I started like a few days ago. Lol

Thanks for the contribution. I was booked on the ship for the next morning and got the news by radio. It was a peculiar feeling taking another ship and seeing the location the next day….

That’s quite a “whoops” on Stanley’s part.

One of the worst cases of Murphy’s Law and “You had one job!” I’ve ever seen. So many deaths because of one man’s (well, two) negligence.

I always love watching all your videos. You just have one of those voices, almost like the narrator of Forensic Files. I could fall asleep watching your videos from your voice alone, instead I’m so fascinated by what you’re talking about.

I was on a ferry arriving in the early morning fog a month after this event and the most eerie scene ever of this boat on its side. It’s was complete silence and shock.

Just found your channel and I’m binging all your videos. Sad as they are thank you for bringing attention to them. I’ve never heard of most and if we do not learn from past mistakes we are bound to repeat them.

I’m very impressed with this content

Just found this channel and I’ve already watched 15 videos. These are awesome. Thank you! Edit* I should say. Your VIDEOS are awesome. These situations are not.

I remember a YouTube video explained that the bow doors being open wasn’t the be all and end all. Other factors including the ship’s ballast tanks being filled to lower the bridge to help people disembark at Zeebrugge plus the speed of the boat making the waves rise were among other factors.

I remember this so vividly. Only 10 at the time, it really shook me.

I just discovered your channel and have been completely addicted! Awesome work!

The remaining body’s were taken off a month later, holy shit that’s long

I remember this so well and how shocked everyone was that this could happen in relatively calm water so close to port. Just a little mention that ‘boatswain’ as mentioned at 6.59 in the video is pronounced ‘bow sun’ in the same way as coxswain in pronounced ‘cox on’.

♥️ your videos!! They are such historical treats!! Educational & entertaining….a sometimes, challenging duo….keep up the marvelous work with the utmost high standards!!!

Seeing this all over the news as a kid made me hyper vigilant of departure procedures on boats and planes I got on.

A week before the ship sank, my parents were on board travelling to Zeebrugge, on their way to Holland for a weeks holiday.. As the ship left harbour (Dover) the doors were open while it went out too sea. The doors being left open was therefore a common practice on this ship, as time of leaving harbour was obviously more important than safety. Ultimately the captain is responsible for all operations on a ship, but there should have been several people sent to prison after this sinking.

This channel reminds me of another similar channel called “Horror Stories”. Both have great content.

This channel deserves to blow up, amazing vids and interesting cases!

I vividly remember watching the heavy coverage of this tragedy back in ’87.

I remember this day very well. I had just toured Europe with a band and we were booked on to the ferry to return home. We were held up and missed the ferry.

I remember going on a townsend thoresen ferry to france a couple of months after the zebrugge disaster. It’s hard to imagine what it would have been like for those passengers in that disaster. I guess ladders might have been very handy for people to escape when it capsized but ferry companies don’t expect their vessels to capsize onto a sandbank I guess

Great channel, Great content! Been binging your videos all day. Keep up the great work!

I remember this tragedy like it was yesterday. As a kid I was fascinated by ships and the sea, in part due to news coverage of the discovery of the Titanic a few years before, and my childhood bedroom was filled with scale models of ocean liners. So the news images of this massive red ship laying on her side stuck with me, as did the accounts of the events of that night contained within an edition of the Reader’s Digest that my Mum picked up later that year. The Herald tragedy wasn’t the first times TT ro-ro had capsized – five years earlier, the smaller European Gateway rolled onto her side with the loss of six lives: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-25446228 The Herald was one of a series of horrendous disasters that seemed to follow in quick succession throughout the mid-late 1980s – Bradford City fire, the Herald, Heysel stadium, Kings Cross fire, Piper Alpha, Kegworth, Clapham, Lockerbie – every other week, images of destruction and massive loss of life. Punctuated by IRA bombing campaigns (particularly in the run-up to Christmas) and urban unrest as Thatcher’s policies began to bite, all set against the omnipresent threat of nuclear annihilation, contrary to rose-tinted reflections of the decade by people who either weren’t born or were too young to remember it, the 80s were in many ways quite a scary time to be growing up in the UK. There’s a fascinating video of the entire salvage operation on YT. One of the first times a large vessel had been righted and refloated whole, it cemented the reputation of the Dutch company (Smit Tak) who carried it out as one of the premier marine salvage operations in Europe. https://youtu.be/HcSAejJfUeg

i remember that story very vividly from my youth. My teacher told us many horror stories of the rescue mission he was asked to attend to, due to his position as a rescue officer in the army.

loved this video…its one of those maritime disasters that is VERY much overlooked There is two incidents that I think you may want to look into (that I could help in researching if need be, as I collect lots of material in relation) 1. Moby Prince and Agip Abruzzo collision and fire in 1991 (Italy) 2. KMP Tampomas II fire and sinking in 1981 (Indonesia) These two disasters both have some of the most horrifying stories to come from the disasters, and even more horrifying photos taken in the aftermath for Moby prince 140 people died (leaving only one survivor from the ferry) and 400+ died in the tampomas disaster, but many others were smuggled aboard and the actual number of dead is unknown

I remember this so clearly and one of my second cousins lost his life on this. It completely devastated his parents. Quite soon after this happened, a friend of mine went on the same route on a school trip and took photos of the Herald of Free Enterprise as it was still there, on its side. What a horrific disaster it was.

People have the right to be Stupid But they often Abuse the Privilege.

I remember this well, we were travelling on The Pride of Free Enterprise the same night. Coming home was daunting after what had just happened

This has to be the most addicting channel I have ever found.

These are sooo addicting – suppose to be driving home right now with my grocerys but instead I had to watch a couple episodes sitting here in the parking lot lol- and the dark hip-hop theme song is soo good !!

I remember this happening and being shocked that no one was held to account whether it was crew members or company owners for the wilful negligence here.

My brother in law was on this as a school boy on a school trip. He had to jump from the ship into the water and broke his leg.

I’ve been binge watching your channel half the night…because I can’t sleep. Makes sense.

i hope they start posting more often i love these!

The music you use in the background of these videos sticks in my head after the videos. It’s so effective

Zeebrugge is not pronounced as “Zibrukke” but as “Zaybrugge”, the “g” sound is hard to find a equivalent of in English, but it’s kinda like the ch in loch. 🙂

My grandad was a truck driver and was ment to go aboard but he was 5 minutes late luckily being late saved his life rest in peace all who died that day

This was like a series of failures leading to one giant failure. So sad for the families of the victims

Very informative and respectful watch. Heartfelt condolences. Reading through the comments though, I’m surprised how many people were on the ship, as there are a hell of a lot of people who knew people who missed this sailing, as is claimed…..!

Yeah I’m not riding on any ship named “Herald of Free Enterprise”. May as well just be named “Herald of Safety Violations”.

You’re well on your way to a million subscribers: I can’t see any stopping you now.

Yikes!! All of those poor passengers!!👀😑 How does routine, maritime, actions/things you do every (damn) day and are getting paid for: turn into a horrifying and ghastly loss of life, my god!! Excellent video I’ve never heard of this Maritime disaster before, wow. 🤔

They said it was “inofficial common practice” to depart with the car deck doors open to vent remaining exhaust gasses from the vehicles.

I love ur content! Found you in my recomendations and am so happy for it 😁

You are THE man!!!! Love the narration! Enthralled by every story. SUPER SUBBED!!!!!

I was only five years old, but remember very well the images of that capsized ferry.

Knew one of the drivers that perished in this. Terribly sad

It actually required people dying before someone thought having indicators on the bridge for whether the BOW DOORS where closed might be a good idea. The stupidity of humans never cease to amaze.

My GP was studying in a hospital on the south coast when she was young, and she was asked to help with the rescue attempt. She was on the rescue helicopters etc… she said there’s not a day that goes by without her thinking about it.

This is something that has always stuck with me. I wasn’t even 10 at the time. I have the Let It Be charity record.

My family lived in England at the time, and we had been on this ferry weeks before this happened on vacation with a lot of families from our Army base. My parents still talk about the fact that, upon boarding the ferry, all of the kids/families scattered, which would have made it impossible for them to round my sister and I up and get us to safety had it happened when we were on board.

I like that you added “in peacetime”

Missed getting on that ship by half an hour .was in the booking office in zeebrugge waiting to get a ticket .when thay said it was full and I would have to get the next sailing at 22.00 .decided to go to Calais instead .were I heard that it had sunk .very very lucky to be alive .

After watching this, I feel like an episode about MS Estonia would be worth considering.

8:36 I can tell you for fact that in Autumn 1987, the Herald was stored at Grand Canaria. I was on a cruise aboard P&O’s S.S.Canberra at the time, and we moored right next to it! Everyone was morbidly fascinated by it, as the disaster had only happened a few months earlier in March, and it was still within the news cycle. It was moored with its heavily damaged, (previously)submerged side toward us, and the Townsend Thoresen logos and ships name were all painted over in the same red as the hull – to try and disguise what it was. However, the Herald of Free Enterprise lettering was raised – so it was still obvious as to what we were looking at. A Ghost ship. Chilling and thought provoking indeed.

I remember it well. Mark Stanley never tried to distance himself from his responsibility. For that and his actions in trying to save others – respect.

i was wondering when i’d come across a video from this event my grandfather worked with civil protection and had to remove bodies from the site, it changed his life forever we rarely talked about it but i could feel his pain whenever it was mentioned

Ah yes, the famous practice of leaving the bow door open while sailing

Every time I get on a plane or boat (which is relatively common, since I am from the UK which is only accessible by air or water), I plan my exit, observing all doors, all walkways, all windows. I am usually mocked for this by friends and family, but I will never stop doing it.

when I see this video, it all came up again. I was missing the ferry on that day about 10 minutes due to traffic jam. I was quite angry about 10 minutes too late after 8 hours driving. So what, get the next one. I sat in the waiting area of the ticket hall when a steward informed the passengers that the habour will be closed for reasons, but he do not told us why. I ask the woman at the counter what about my next ride. She reply I shall try to get a ferry from Oostend. Arrived In Oostend, bought a ticket, boarding the Ferry and than I saw the desaster on TV in the bord restaurant. I couldn´t believe what I saw. What a tragedy.

I don’t know why but ocean disaster’s always are more fascinating to me, maybe it’s the complete helplessness to it but it always seems very interesting to see how or if rescues are possible.

Left with the question….. Why were those charged with negligent or corporate manslaughter acquitted by the judge? Not saying that they should or shouldn’t have been, but would be interesting to know why that order was given in this case.

I travelled on that ship on a few school trips in the 80s. I remember hearing about the sinking. 🙁

I think it was 60 seconds from disaster that featured this in an episode that highlighted this ship and its sister ship had both crossed the channel successfully with the bow doors open. Reconstructions also looked at how far water would reach on the boat depending on what speed the boat was traveling in similar sea conditions. If it had got out the harbour before any problems developed it likely would have made it safely to England without issue

Remember being at school when this happened. I think the bow doors were faulty/left open.

I actually have a 1970’s photograph on my husband and myself on the ferry deck of ANOTHER ferry from Dover to Calais as it left port, with its bow doors wide open. Listening to this video explains why the ferry capsize at Zebrugga but it it seemed to be the norm to leave port with them open as close them as they left.

I misses that crossing ,by 2mins ,,, so had to drive over my hours , to another port…. the rest is history……

“rather than get a longer ladder they just gently sank the ship closer to the ladder for the second floor” Bruh

i was 6 when it happend and back in the day before internet, smartphones etc . . . the only thing you could do to see a disaster was to actual go and see it. like many belgians, we went in the weekends to zeebrugge to see the ship on it’s side and see what they where doing. stil a weird thought though to think a lot of dead people where inside the ship at that time

I just found your channel today and I love your storytelling style. Can we request stories?

I remember hearing a story about someone made themselves into a human ladder and let some of the passengers climb over them in order to try and escape

“here is an account from survivor, Simon Osborne” Taco bell ad: “Wanna know a secret?”

“A judge ordered the jury to acquit all concerned.” WOW, it really was “FREE enterprise.”

This is the first Fascinating Horror video to use the now legendary Glass Pond music that we the fans of this channel know and love.

Incredible, Thank God for that sandbar it landed on under it! For that would have been a very devastating loss! RIP to the ones who did perish

one or two relatively simple things missed that can cause so much terror and destruction. it’s insane.

I remember this or something like this on “Seconds Before Disaster”

May they rest in peace…was unaware of this,and feel so badly for all on the ship.With so many harrowing deaths in our world,…I wonder that we can find Faith.🌏

You’re great man. Keep it up. You’re one of the best true crime channels out there.

I don’t know if its just a change in engineering practice since these events, but as someone working as an engineer now, I cannot imagine such a glaringly obvious failure mechanism not even having a warning light or siren.

My dad actually rode that ferry shortly before this incident while studying abroad in Europe

Worked with a guy who was on it and survived. He barely spoke about it to us,but I know it cost him his confidence and eventually his wife and kids he split from due to PTSD I guess you’d call it these days.

I have an extremely clear memory of seeing this on the news when I was 6 The way the boat was on it’s side freaked me out

Found this channel today. Been binge watching ever since. Can’t get a thing done. Awesome content, great research done well done. Subbed. Thanks 👍

I remember this well as a child, I’d actually travelled on the Herald a few times before the accident and had been down to the car deck and remember seeing the doors wide open, it was a common thing. The company changed to P&O and her sister ships had their names changed.

I’m surprised you haven’t done a video on the MS Estonia yet, a very similar ferry disaster.

I had a friend who’s mum and dad died on this 😢

Well, I definitely remember this, although details about the cause are new to me. I guess that the Estonia is up next…

Two things. #1 the ferry looked top heavy to me on first view; seeing it on its side with its shallow underside confirms that feeling. #2, as already mentioned in posts, did anyone ever investigate that judge who ordered the jury not to convict? He sure as hell sounds bought off to me.

I remember this disaster well. Following this, the company was rebranded P&O Ferries. Living in Ireland I regularly use ferries to England or Scotland. If you’re one of the last vehicles to board, you’ll often see those bow doors being closed longer before departure, and if you’re one of the first, you’ll be sat in your car after the ship has docked watching the doors open. It was widely reported at the time that it was common for ferries sailing the English Channel to disembark with the bow doors open, just to gain a few minutes in journey time. Thankfully that culture has long gone.

It was good to find out about the other factors. Another valuable post. ♡

It looks like a top heavy houseboat, completely unsafe anywhere other than being tied securely to a dock. Poor maintenance and epecially poor design is also apparent. The corporate mentality is to ignore crucial safety issues, and then when something goes wrong their asses are usually covered.

You give me “Horror Stories” channel vibes and I love it ❤️ Subscribed

I love that sudden acquittal at the end of the “show trial”. Some people at the top apparently felt threatened.

This is the first ‘news’ I ever remember (I was 6). I distinctly remember seeing the capsized boat on the TV and it really spooking me that something bad had happened. I still get creeped out by sinking boat stories.

I remember this so well …it scared me so much especially when I went to Ireland

The people who had to recover those month old water logged corpses must have been braver than any u.s marine.

This is insane. As a Belgian myself born in ’95 I didn’t know of this disaster. Called my father over who has vivid memories (used to be a marine at Zeebrugge) of it. Thank you for this video, my heart goes out to all the people who lost their live that day.

I suggest covering the Sewol Ferry Tragedy. Such a tragic loss of life that could’ve been prevented at so many turns.

I find your narration to be quite relaxing.. your voice is calm, The cadence of your voice is a melodic masterpiece.

You managed the whole narration without saying Townsend Thoresen once!

“Here is an account from a survivor” Ad: HAVE A TRISCUT

This disaster contributed directly to the start of my audio-visual business, when I was asked to record the 14 or so sessions of the resulting Inquiry at the Lloyds Register of Shipping in London. I was not allowed to sit in on the meetings, but required to sit in the hallway outside the meeting chamber, whilst a member of staff I trained ran the tapes and 16x mic system.

Clearly the judge was well paid for his ruling.

worked as a deckhand on a ferry in 82, I could see that they were death traps if water got onto the car deck. our crew cabins were a deck below the car deck, I always had in mind the fastest way up to the boat deck if we took on water. Before this I worked on cargo ships.

Oh water,, always so threatening.. taking lives and so destructive. Yet who are we without water and it’s beauty

This tragedy happened when you was at school in Brighton. (Aged 14) One of my school friends, his brother and parents were onboard, my friend and his brother survived but he sadly lost their parents. I will always remember the story he told me: They had gone to France on a day trip and had boarded the ferry for home, they had gone to the restaurant for a meal but my friend and his brother didn’t like anything on the menu so his dad gave them some money to go and get a burger from the bar on deck. When tragedy struck my friend and his brother were thrown into sea and ultimately rescued, his parents sadly drowned in the restaurant with many others. The boys went on to be raised by their grandparents…. A very sad time 😢

I’m addicted to you channel. Thank you for bringing me horror and joy

I’ve used TT on the channel crossing and i find it hard to believe the crew forgot to close the main loading doors on the vehicle deck . I would have thought there would be some kind of alarm system in place.

I remember the joke on the school playground at the time was “roll on, roll off, roll over”. I was too young at the time to understand how horrible that was

Another ship disaster caused by human negligence, and they got off. No justice for the victims. 🥺

M/S Estonia would be perfect for this series

I lived in Belgium at the time and Zeebrugge was our holiday spot. We would see TT ferries taking off form port all the time with bowel doors wide open! I seemed like routine to leave with bowel doors open and only close them when already at see. We always questioned this and then the disaster happened.

This is an amazingly well-done video. You should cover the MV Sewol disaster next- to me, it is by far the most horrifying maritime incident ever to occur. I think you would do it great justice.

Very interesting, I have read many accounts and diagnosis of this disaster and the later salvage. And this is first I heard of a ballasting change becuase of a change of port, that I recall. Most/all just mention there was no car deck door lock indicator on the bridge and IIRC the deck boatswain, and captain was negligent in the face of heavier seas than normal and another sailor was drunk and sleeping. And the compnay was negligent in their overall operations. But the condtions for the trim, new to me. Sunk in less than 4mins from leaving the doc? the captain , company , and certain crew were totally responsible for such negligence.

I have only been really scared twice in my life. The first time, a co-worker talked me into joining her when she needed a few hours for her pilot’s licence. She didn’t scare me, it was being up in a tiny, single engine plane that scared me…like being on top of the world’s tallest building and standing on the uppermost part of the roof. Second time? Taking a ferry. We were only making a river crossing while inside a small, single level, car ferry. But being what seemed less than a foot about the water’s surface…well, all that I could think of was the many stories of ferries sinking and the loss of life.

When my mum worked for Access back in the 80’s, two of her colleagues (a married couple), were on the ferry on the evening it capsized. Thankfully they both survived the disaster.

I sailed on her about 8 months before the disaster, it took 3 hours to get the vehicles off in zeebrugge once it was docked as the doors would not open, i remember members of the crew constantly hitting the hydrolic rams with huge mallets and hammers in the hope of releasing them, i remember my dad saying he had a bad feeling about that ferry.

I was a toddler when this happened, but it would occasionally be bought up on TV as I was growing up. I remember I had a train set with a car wagon that said “not to be used past Zeebrugge” and it always reminded me of people talking about this

As a Merchant Mariner myself I can tell you what we do on the water is sooo dangerous. RIP to all the fallen

I still remember this and it was so so sad for all concerned 🙄

” I thought you closed the bow doors. Well I thought you were going to close them ” . No accountability sank that ship. And that is criminal. But I guess the judge didn’t think so. So much for British justice.

The more of your videos I watch the more is apparent that barely any justice is served. No matter the casualties there are barely any consequences for the people in charge. It’s mind boggling

“Judge told the jury not to convict anyone.”… After which he retreated to his newly purchased Swiss Alpine mansion to live a life of luxury ever since.

Who would have thought that a boat called the ‘Herald of Free Enterprise’ would end up being a perfect metaphor for capitalism

If this channel has taught us anything, it’s that the 1980’s were full of gnarly disasters mostly caused my human.

I was going to school in England at the time. Our class was set to take a yearly trip to France. This happened not long before our trip, and i, an excited 10 year old, decided not to go on the trip because of this incident.

Incredible how a ship of this kind had no automatic warning linked to the doors allowing the ship to start its journey in such a dangerous condition.

I was on the Herald the previous week. My blood ran cold when I watched the TV photos of the unfolding disaster. I couldn’t swim then and still can’t so God help me if I had travelled a week later. My mother worked for the ferry company and knew most of the crew. Those that survived were never the same again.

Oh I remembered this one as soon as you said that guy who was supposed to shut the doors overslept and missed his job hehehe…

I remember this very well we had just got bck from France and Belgium wk before Dover to Calais crossing Took me over 25 years again before I went on another ferry Too many memories that scared the life outta me

The 80s were a tough decade for engineers for real tho

Not one person was held accountable for hundreds of deaths? Amazing.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more 80s name then “Herald of free enterprise”.

A couple I knew and greatly admired as a child, who were just engaged and on on a pre marriage trip, died that day. 😢

I went on the Herald of Free Enterprise in the Summer of 1985 on a day trip between Dover to Calais. Horrifying what happened just a few months later.

Has he done the Chicago River Eastland Ship Disaster? My Great Grandpa was on the Eastland when it flipped and his buddy was crushed by furniture. It was pure luck that he survived and I was eventually born. In 2004 I moved into a building at 324 S. Racine Ave that had been used as an emergency morgue because they had nowhere set to keep the bodies. It was weird to live above a funeral home turned restaurant that had a direct connection to a Disaster that a family member lived through.

I wonder if during that time they had dive teams that would search for bodies, bc most of the time a pocket of air will form underwater and a person will be trapped in there, presumed dead. So hopefully they looked before the months before they got the ship out of the water

Could you do the Estonia and Scandinavian Star ferry disasters? They were terrible losses of life and I’d like to see how you would cover them. Well done on this video.

This is right near my home… I had honestly completely forgotten about this incident. Interesting you brought it up

I never knew this. My family visited Zeebrugge a few years after that, naturally spending time on the beach.

There seem to be so many deaths in these situations because the crew say ‘go back to your cabins it will be ok’. If I hear hear that I’m straight up onto the deck and lifeboats!

Going somewhere where I will have to take a ferry between an island and a peninsula Me: “gee, let me see what I can find to needless terrify myself about this seemingly normal thing”

You and Top 5’s have become my favorite channels.

I remember this disaster so weĺl. It was a major incident in my childhood and I remember the story featuring on the news for days

The only lesson from all these videos is that no matter how many people die, no body ever gets jail time.

I remember this one as it happened on UK news. Horrific! But after working in P&O Stena Line & knowing a some crew from the Hengist beaching as well the word in the business was the boatswain (pronounced bosun!) not closing the doors was where the blame lies. Kipping in his bunk after a piss-up. Along with open car decks. Of course, without subdividing the car decks you can get more cars & trucks in. Plus it speeds up the loading & unloading. Roll on / roll off is quicker without sea tight doors to open and close. It comes down to profit & negligence. Calling a bosun a boat swain is a crime nearly as bad though! 😆

I’m almost certain I have been on this ship as a little kid within the few years before this disaster happened, or at least one of its sister ships. Since watching the news reports about this disaster, every time I board any kind of ship, I always look for escape routes and am reluctant to enter any area that seems difficult to escape from within a short time. It probably wouldn’t have helped on this ship given how quickly it all went wrong, but at least it’s something.

R.I.P Jackie Reader truly often in my thoughts 🤗😥

Lmao “the Harold of free enterprise” fitting

a ferry that used to serve a route very close to me got moved over to the dover – callais route quite recently, getting replaced by blue star 1. the other ferry is isle of inishmore.

It’s always music to my ears when corrupt businessmen get the big stick of the law

It’s almost as if that judge took a payout from the company. Ordering everyone to be acquitted, on what basis?

When people have to do something repeatedly they become complacent and start taking things for granted.

I’m honestly surprised they were cavalier enough to leave the ballast in a ro/ro

So the passengers were “plunged into darkness” and this contributed to their deaths but no change to internal lighting systems? Chairs, tables, and other massive items were not secured causing many passengers’ deaths directly but no change to how these items are installed in ships or ferries…kinda makes you go WTF?!?