Figure 3. Loss of ukc @ bilge strakes relative to angle of heel.


speed in shallow waters. Transverse squat and grounding could occur at the bilge strakes. 23. If there is any danger of FSE with slack water tanks, then fill them up completely or totally empty them. 24. Do not request rudder helm if the ship is speeding in shallow waters. Ship response in shallow waters is less efficient than in deep water conditions.


from extreme Port side right across to extreme Starboard side. 28. Commercial pressures for quick turn around in Port. 29. Ship handling is less efficient in shallow water then in deep water. 30. Communication problems existed, producing human error, or as the Marine Inquiry Judge stated, ‘sloppy seamanship.’


24 suggested changes 1. Close bow and stern doors before leaving port. 2. Fit or retrofit longitudinal and transverse bulkheads. 3. Fit polythene drums or spheres to reduce permeability in empty compartments that may be flooded. 4. Increase the breadth moulded for new ro-ro ferry designs. 5. Eliminate the entry of cars through the bow. Only have entrance and departure of cars through Stern doors. 6. Consider side-loading ramps for cargo, lorries and cars. 7. Improve escape facilities, for example chutes and capsules. A quick get-away for passengers from a stricken vessel is vital. 8. Have all cars/lorries firmly fastened to deck and encased in an inflatable padding. 9. Whenever possible, ships leaving a port must be upright and on even keel. 10. Fit television cameras to confirm that bow doors and stern doors are closed before the vessel gets underway.


The Naval Architect April 2009


11. Decide upon maximum ship speeds within a certain distance of a port during departure and arrival manoeuvres. Tis will minimise squat effects. 12. Fit cut-out mechanisms within the engine system if bow doors or stern doors remain open just prior to departure from a port. An analogy would be say similar to a car for limiting its speed to say 70mph on a Motorway. 13. Have larger GM values, say greater than 2.10m. 14. Have end draft indicators, linking readings to the ship’s bridge. 15. Use hand-held instruments to count people and cars on and off ship for every voyage. 16. Fit high-pressure pump(s), to be used for quick transfer of water ballast or oil. 17. Improve onboard stability data to include conditions having trim by the bow and trim by the stern. 18. Re-consider all the working conditions of shipboard personnel to decrease fatigue and complacency. 19. Make officers and crew, via retraining courses, aware of the consequences of ‘sloppy seamanship.’ 20. Promote ‘responsibility and accountability’ attitudes onboard ship. 21. Pay utmost attention to ship speed, especially when ship is in shallow waters. Remember, if the ship’s speed is halved, then the squat is quartered. 22. Do not attempt to turn ship at high


IF…………… IF the ship’s outward speed had not been as high as 18knots to 20knots, Herald of Free Enterprise would not have developed such excessive squat in these shallow water conditions. Halving the speed would have quartered the squat. IF when static, there had been stern trim instead of bow trim on the vessel, then when underway she would have trimmed further by the stern. Te open bow doors would have risen up above the water level with much less danger of ingress of water. IF the bow doors had been closed before leaving Zeebrugge, this incident would not have happened. But this was only 1 of 30 factors! IF human error had not occurred, then again this incident would not have happened. As with all accidents, be it a plane, a train, or a vessel, it is generally not just one fault but a series of faults coming together, unfortunately all at the same time.


To try and ascertain further the reasons why the Herald of Free Enterprise capsize took place, a sister ship, Pride of Free Enterprise undertook full-scale tests. Tis was in May 1987, about two months aſter the Zeebrugge incident. Ship-model simulation studies and mathematical modelling programmes were also carried out. Herald of Free Enterprise was repaired.


Using ship surgery methods, she was lengthened and renamed, Herald of Free Spirit. Later on, she was again renamed, this time as Flushing Range. Her final voyage was to Alang in India. She


was broken up for scrap in Alang in 1988. Since the Herald of Free Enterprise capsize


in 1987, following accidents/incidents involving ferries, over 3000 people have lost their lives. NA


57


Feature 4


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