The Marchioness disaster occurred on the River Thames in London, England, in the early hours of 20 August 1989, when the pleasure boat Marchioness sank after being run down by the dredger Bowbelle. The two boats collided near Cannon Street Railway Bridge. 51 of the 130 passengers on the Marchioness, who were attending a private birthday party, drowned.
Victims
The party was organised to celebrate the 26th birthday of Antonio de Vasconcellos, who worked in a merchant bank. Of Portuguese family background, he had studied Economics at Cambridge University. Many of those at the party were also in their 20s; some were former student friends, and others working in the fashion industry. The dead included Francesca Dallaglio, older sister of future England national rugby union captain Lawrence Dallaglio; and the skipper of the Marchioness, Stephen Faldo, estranged father of reality TV star Jeff Brazier.
Collision
In the collision the anchor of the Bowbelle first cut through the side of the Marchioness. The Marchioness then rolled over and quickly filled with water while being pushed under by the Bowbelle. As the ship capsized the entire superstructure of the Marchioness became detached. The formal investigation puts the time from the collision at 1.46 a.m. to complete immersion at close to 30 seconds. Witnesses quoted in the formal investigation describe the Bowbelle"hitting it [the Marchioness] in about its centre then mounted it, pushing it under the water like a toy boat." Of the deceased, 24 were recovered still in the wreck. The majority of the survivors had been on the upper decks at the time of the collision.[1]
Aftermath
The disaster was found by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to have been caused by the poor visibility from each ship's wheelhouse, the fact that both vessels were using the centre of the river, and that no clear instructions were given to the look-out at the bow of the Bowbelle. In 1991, the skipper of the Bowbelle, Douglas Henderson, was tried for failing to keep a proper look-out but after two juries were deadlocked he was formally acquitted. A Coroner's inquest on 7 April 1995 found the victims had been unlawfully killed. On 14 February 2000, John Prescott as Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions ordered a Formal Investigation into the circumstances of the collision to be chaired by Lord Justice Clarke. Lord Clarke's report also blamed poor lookouts on both vessels for the collision and criticised the owners and managers of both vessels for failing to properly instruct and monitor their crews. In 2001, an inquiry into the competancy and behaviour of Captain Henderson by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency concluded that he should be allowed to keep his master's certificate as he met all the service and medical fitness requirements. However, they "strongly deprecated" his conduct in drinking 6 pints of lager in the afternoon prior to the accident and his admission that he had forged certificates and testimonials in order to obtain his master mariner certificate of competancy in 1988.[2]
Subsequent to recommendations made in the Clarke report to improve river safety, the Government asked the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Port of London Authority and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to work together to set up a dedicated Search and Rescue service for the tidal River Thames. Consequently, on 2 January 2002, the RNLI set up four lifeboat stations at Gravesend, Tower Pier, Chiswick Pier and Teddington.
The Bowbelle was herself lost 7 years after the disaster. Having been sold to a Madeiran dredging company, she split in half and sank on 25 March 1996.
A memorial to the victims can be found in the nave of Southwark Cathedral, not far from the site of the disaster, where every year a service of remembrance is held for those who lost their lives.
A drama about the events surrounding the disaster has been made by ITV Productions in association with Leeds-based Chameleon TV and was to have been broadcast on ITV1 in late 2007. However, speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival on 25 August 2007, former ITV Director of Drama Nick Elliot confirmed that the drama would not be shown "in its present form" though it has been shown on French TV. Some families of those killed in the disaster had previously asked ITV not to broadcast the programme,[3] although others thought it "crucial" that it be broadcast, "an excellent adaptation of the full horror of what happened."[4]
See also
References
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