The Great Storm of ’87 TV - James Nesbitt: Disasters that Changed Britain TV - Horizon TV - Costa Concordia Disaster - Timeshift TV - Estonia: The Disaster TV - Why Ships Sinks: The Zeebrugge Disaster TV - The Great Flood of '53 TV -
The Herald of Free Enterprise: a roll-on roll-off ferry. A catalogue of human errors combined to spell disaster for the ferry. Bow doors were left open, and as the ship headed for the open sea water filled the car deck. The Great Storm of ’87. Channel 5 2022
On the night of the 6th March 1987 The Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in the icy waters of the English channel. 193 died from drowning and hypothermia. And the one thing everybody knows: they forgot to close the doors. But there is another story: one of near misses, ignored warnings, a story of time and money. ibid.
Time was money and all the crew knew it. ibid.
19th December 1982: Just outside Harwich harbour the Townsend Rollo ferry The European Gateway smashed into a cargo vessel: water flooded the ship and within ten minutes capsized … six died. ibid.
By the late ’80s the English channel was in a golden age. ibid
The sinking of the Estonia is notorious for accounts of behavioural inaction. Although the alarm was sounded almost thirty minutes before the ferry sank some passengers did nothing to save their own lives. Horizon: How to Survive a Disaster, BBC 2009
13th January 2012: the Costa Concordia cruise ship collides with a rock near an Italian island and begins sinking. It’s the largest passenger shipwreck in history. Costa Concordia Disaster: One Year On, National Geographic 2013
Costing an estimated $400 million it will be the most expensive and challenging salvage operation ever attempted. ibid.
At 9.45 p.m. the ship hits the rock. ibid.
Why it took so long to abandon ship ... there was confusion on board. ibid.
The ship starts to lean to its left side. ibid.
Twenty minutes after the impact no-one has called a general emergency ... the announcers repeat the same reassuring message. ibid.
Thirty people have died in the collision and two are missing. ibid.
They were once as much a part of the Great British seaside as fish and chips. Pleasure steamers linking industrial cities to seaside resorts … The excursion steam was the first form of mass transport … What they did was to democratise luxury. Timeshift: The People’s Liners, BBC 2016
While the sixties swung, the steamers were shunned. ibid.
The Baltic Sea 28 September 1994: ‘The Estonia was no ordinary accident. It was a devastating disaster of unseen proportions that claimed many lives and left many casualties.’ Estonia I: The Disaster, Discovery Plus 2021, Lars Borgnas, journalist
‘The ferry disaster is the worst tragedy to hit the Nordics since World War II. 852 people lost their lives; 760 of them are still at the bottom of the sea.’ ibid. news
None of the cars were being tied down despite the high winds. ibid. driver
Just after midnight there were two extremely loud bangs. ibid. survivor
Yes, we have a problem. We’re listing badly 20 or 30 degrees. Could you come to our assistance? ibid. ship’s mayday
We were walking over the cabin windows. ibid.
One of the worst maritime disasters ever has happened in the Baltic Sea. Estonia II: Everyone Shall Be Salvaged, television news
So water was coming in through the front of the boat, through the door? ibid. television news suggestion to crew member
With time it became clear that there was a shift from salvage to no salvage. ibid. Henrik S Jarrel, former Swedish MP
Meanwhile, the diving company Rockwater is examining the wreck of the Estonia. Rockwater will evacuate if it is possible to retrieve the deceased and salvage the wreck. ibid. commentary
Some of them still had lipstick on, still fresh as they were two months before. So one by one pass them down. ibid. diving dude
Our conclusion at the time was that a significant amount of the bodies could have been recovered. We pinpointed 125 victims which we documented in our reports … ibid. salvage dude
The agreement prohibits all diving on the wreck of the Estonia. It will take effect from 1st of July 1995. ibid. caption
There must have been hole in the ship. ibid. expert
The Estonia was no ordinary accident. It was a devastating disaster of unseen proportions that claimed many lives and left many devastated … There’s no room for suspicion or for hiding anything … The macabre idea was to cover the vessel. Estonia III: Something is Wrong, Lars Borgnas, journalist
It make no sense to cover the vessel with concrete. ibid. Carl Eric Eriantamm
After massive protests from next of kin, the in situ burial of the Estonia is aborted in the summer of 1996. The law prohibiting diving near the wreck is upheld. ibid. caption
In November 1994 it was known that the bow visor had detached. Witnesses had seen that the bow visor was gone. ibid. Jaan Metsavver, accident investigation commission
This hole is probably the main cause of the sinking of the boat. ibid.
Interviewer: Who put the explosive there?
Investigator: I don’t know. ibid.
The Accident Investigation Commission claims there is no need for further investigation. The Commission maintains that the shipwreck was adequately investigated in 1994. ibid. captions
We found the hole … That’s all we need for an investigation. ibid. divers
The Estonia was used in a smuggling operation which brought vital secrets from Russia to the West. It was a combined operation involving MI6, Estonian Intelligence and Swedish Intelligence. There were clear and specific warnings from the Russians to the West. ibid. investigator
Tallinn-Stockholm: It was a very successful route which they used for a number of years. Estonia IV: Secrets at the Bottom of the Sea, investigator
The same day the Estonia sank rumours surfaced that it was being used to smuggle military equipment. ibid. Lars Angstrom, former Swedish MP
The military clearly used a civilian passenger ferry to transport military cargo. ibid. outraged politician
cf.
There’s no reason to believe they attempted to transport anything. ibid. inquiry dude’s findings
It must have been organised by the most secretive Swedish military intelligence … They are scared of what the truth might reveal. ibid. old dude
Four days after the disaster the first surveys of the wreck are made. ibid.
The first thing we need to find the truth is new dives. ibid. prosecutor
I want answers. I won’t rest till I have answers. Estonia V: The Dive, Harald Setsaas, next of kin
It’s hard to understand how the boat could have sunk without a hole in the hull to release the air pockets. ibid. Rolf Imstol, maritime casualty analyst and stability expert
The ship Fritz Reuter is on its way to examine the wreck of the Estonia. ibid.
The Turver was directly over the wreck of the Estonia. ibid. Henrik Evertson, journalist & director