Marchioness disaster

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. There were 131 people on the Marchioness crewing, waiting and attending a private birthday party; fifty-one of them drowned.

Victims

The party was organised by model agent Jonathan Phang to celebrate the 26th birthday of Antonio de Vasconcellos, who worked in a merchant bank. The pair were good friends, and business partners in a photographic agency. Of Portuguese family background, Vasconcellos had studied Economics at Cambridge University.

Phang organised a three part celebration: an eight person dinner in a flat on Meard Street (only 2 of the diners survived); a birthday cake and champagne celebration for a group of 30 at the flat; the party on the Marchioness. 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;^[1] and the skipper of the Marchioness, Stephen Faldo, father of reality TV star Jeff Brazier.^[2]

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.^[3]

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 the lack of clear instructions to the lookout 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.

Following pressure from the Marchioness Action Group, whose publicity front had been handled by photographer and party attendee Ian Philpott 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 competency 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 5 pints of lager in the afternoon prior to the accident and for his admission that he had forged some signatures on certificates and testimonials in order to obtain his master mariner certificate of competency in 1988.^[4]

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 seven years after the disaster. Having been sold to a Madeiran dredging company and renamed, 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, filmed by ITV Productions in association with Leeds-based Chameleon TV, was scheduled for 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 since been shown on French TV. Relatives of some of those killed in the disaster had previously asked ITV not to broadcast the programme,^[5] although others thought it "crucial" that it be broadcast, "an excellent adaptation of the full horror of what happened."^[6]

20 year anniversary

Twenty years on, various acts of remembrance were organised: the Coastguard placed 51 roses in the Thames, near to the site of the disaster.^[7] At Southwark Cathedral, the names of the victims were read at both Eucharists on 20 August 2009. Survivors and those who lost loved ones attended a service of choral evensong, sung by the Southwark Cathedral Merbecke Choir. The names of all 51 people who died in the tragedy were read out and two wreaths – one for the survivors, one for the dead – were laid at the Marchioness memorial within the cathedral.^[8] A documentary aired on BBC One in October 2009 called "The Marchioness: A Survivor's Story" which followed survivor Jonathan Phang's efforts to come to terms with the disaster.^[9]

See also

• List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll

References

External links

• Formal Investigation Report into the disaster
• Details of the memorial in Southwark Cathedral
• BBC On This Day 20 August 1989 Marchioness river crash kills 30
• Marchioness Action Group
• Obituary Eileen Dallagio, Founder Marchioness Action Group

Coordinates: 51°30′32″N 0°05′37″W / 51.5088°N 0.0936°W / 51.5088; -0.0936