The River Thames in London England, the name actually means dark. An adjective that became especially fitting on the night of the 20th of August 1989 when a pleasure boat filled with party goers, many of them in their 20’s was hit by a dredger and sank killing 51 of the 132 aboard.
The Marchioness had been hired for a private birthday party by Antonio de Vasconcellos who is turning 26. Having studied Economics at Cambridge, the merchant banker was named as one of the dead as was the skipper of the Marchioness Steve Faldo.
The accident happened when we saw that bridge at about 2 a.m. as the 1475 ton dredger, the Bowbelle one of the biggest vessels on the Thames smashed into the back of the 90 ton cruiser flipping it over before hitting it again and running straight over to it.
In only 30 seconds, the Marchioness sank and many people still trapped below. A little inquiry by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch found the accident was caused by limited visibility from the way of house of each vessel, both ships using the center of the river and the lack of instruction given to the Bowbelle’s lookout.
Douglas Henderson, the dredger’s skipper was tried for not keeping the proper lookout but was acquitted. Below a Coroner’s inquest in1995, determining that the dead had been unlawfully killed.
Less than a decade later, the Bowbelle has selfless lives having being sold to Madeiran dredging company she split in half and sank in March 1996. Six years later in 2001, another inquiry to Henderson’s behavior decreed that he should be allowed to retain his master certificate despite evidence that he previously lied about his qualifications.
Meanwhile, a memorial to the victims was unveiled at South of the Cathedral on the south bank of the Thames, not far from where the Marchioness went down. It reads, “Many waters cannot quench love.”
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