Herald of Free Enterprise

Herald of Free Enterprise In March 1987 the roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized and sank shortly after leaving Zeebrugge in Belgium. The accident occurred because the bow door was left open when the ship left port allowing water to enter and flood the car deck. The accident resulted in the deaths of 193 passengers and crew members.

Shortly after the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987, the United Kingdom came to IMO with a request that a series of emergency measures be considered for adoption.

The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) adopted the first package of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in April 1988, including a new regulation requiring indicators on the navigating bridge for all doors which, if left open, could lead to major flooding of a special category space or a ro-ro cargo space, as well as means such as monitoring to detect water leakage. Another new regulation required monitoring of special category and ro-ro spaces to detect undue movement of vehicles in adverse weather, fire, the presence of water or unauthorized access by passengers whilst the ship is underway.

Another amendment dealt with provision of supplementary emergency lighting for ro-ro passenger ships. The amendments entered into force on 22 October 1989, 18 months after adoption, the minimum time period allowed under SOLAS.

Further amendments were adopted in October 1988 at a special MSC session requested and paid for by the United Kingdom. The amendments adopted entered into force on 29 April 1990 and have become known as the "SOLAS 90" standard, relating to the stability of passenger ships in the damaged condition. In fact, work on developing this standard had begun following the accident involving the European Gateway, which had capsized following a collision with another ship in 1982, and ended up lying on her side in relatively shallow water with only five lives lost.

The amendment applied to ships built after 29 April 1990 and stipulated that the maximum angle of heel after flooding but before equalization shall not exceed 15 degrees.

A further amendment addressed intact stability, requiring masters to be supplied with data necessary to maintain sufficient intact stability, including information showing the influence of various trims, taking into account operational limits. Another amendment added a new regulation requiring cargo loading doors to be locked before the ship proceeds on any voyage and to remain closed until the ship is at its next berth.

Another amendment required a lightweight survey must be carried out to passenger ships to verify any changes in lightweight displacement and the longitudinal centre of gravity, at periods not exceeding five years.

Further amendments to SOLAS were adopted by the MSC in April 1989, also entering into force on 1 February 1992. The most important dealt with openings in watertight bulkheads in passenger ships. From 1 February 1992 new ships have had to be equipped with power-operated sliding doors, except in specific cases, which must be capable of being closed from a console on the bridge in not more than 60 seconds. All watertight doors must be kept closed except in exceptional circumstances. In May 1990, new amendments relating to the subdivision and damage stability of cargo ships (including freight-only ro-ro ships) were adopted, applying to ships of 100 metres or more in length built after 1 February 1992. The amendments were based upon the so-called "probabilistic" concept of survival, originally developed through study of data relating to collisions collected by IMO.

A series of amendments relating to safe stowage and securing of cargoes were adopted in May 1991, with a revised SOLAS chapter VI Carriage of cargoes entering into force on 1 January 1994. The new chapter refers to the Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing, which includes a number of annexes dealing with such "problem" cargoes as wheel-based cargoes and unit loads, both of which are carried on ro-ro ships.

Other amendments adopted in May 1991 improved fire safety on ships, in particular concerning large open spaces such as atriums on passenger ships built on or after 1 January 1994. Such spaces were to be provided with two means of escape, one of which gives direct access to an enclosed vertical means of escape and be .fitted with a smoke extraction system and with automatic sprinkler systems.

Under the April 1992 Amendments to SOLAS, a slightly modified SOLAS 90 standard was adopted to be phased in for existing ro-ro passenger ships between 1 October 1994 and 1 October 2005, based on the value of a ratio known as A/Amax, determined in accordance with a calculation procedure developed by the MSC to assess the survivability characteristics of existing ro-ro passenger ships. A/Amax is a simplified probabilistic approach attempting to assess the survivability standard of one ferry against another. It assumes a number of simplifications and is a rough guide used because it allowed all countries to carry out relatively quick calculations on a representative number of ferries. It is not a survivability standard as such but enables a hierarchy of vessels to be established.

Meanwhile, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom in 1993 adopted the "Stockholm Agreement" concerning specific stability requirements for ro-ro passenger ships undertaking regular scheduled international voyages between or from designated ports in North West Europe and the Baltic Sea, which meant that existing ferries operating on most of these routes would have to meet the full SOLAS 1990 standard.

Important fire safety measures for existing passenger ships carrying more than 36 passengers were also adopted in April 1992, influenced by another accident - that involving the ro-ro passenger ferry Scandinavian Star caught fire during a voyage in 1990 from Norway to Denmark, resulting in the loss of 165 lives. Further fire safety standards for new passenger ships, built on or after 1 October 1994, were adopted in December 1992.

ISM Code

The Herald of Free Enterprise accident was one of a number of very serious accidents which occurred during the late 1980's, were manifestly caused by human errors, with management faults also identified as contributing factors. At its 16th Assembly in October 1989, IMO adopted resolution A.647(16), Guidelines on Management for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention.

The purpose of these Guidelines was to provide those responsible for the operation of ships with a framework for the proper development, implementation and assessment of safety and pollution prevention management in accordance with good practice. The objective was to ensure safety, to prevent human injury or loss of life, and to avoid damage to the environment, in particular, the marine environment, and to property. The Guidelines were based on general principles and objectives so as to promote evolution of sound management and operating practices within the industry as a whole.

The Guidelines recognised the importance of the existing international instruments as the most important means of preventing maritime casualties and pollution of the sea and included sections on management and the importance of a safety and environmental policy.

After some experience in the use of the Guidelines, in 1993 the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (the ISM Code) was adopted by the 1993 Assembly as resolution A.741(18). In 1994, a conference adopted amendments to SOLAS to make the Code mandatory, in a new chapter IX Management for the Safe Operation of Ships.

The ISM Code establishes safety-management objectives and requires a safety management system (SMS) to be established by "the Company", which is defined as the shipowner or any person, such as the manager or bareboat charterer, who has assumed responsibility for operating the ship.

The Company is then required to establish and implement a policy for achieving these objectives. This includes providing the necessary resources and shore-based support.

Every company is expected "to designate a person or persons ashore having direct access to the highest level of management". The procedures required by the Code should be documented and compiled in a Safety Management Manual, a copy of which should be kept on board.