Marchioness Disaster - Aftermath

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 blamed poor lookouts on both vessels for the collision and criticised the owners and managers of both vessels for failing to instruct and monitor their crews in proper fashion.

In 2001 an inquiry by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency into the competence and behaviour of Captain Henderson 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. Also in 2001, the Royal Humane Society made 19 bravery awards to people involved in rescues at the Marchioness sinking.

Subsequent to recommendations made in the Clarke report relating to the improvement of 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.

Seven years after the disaster, the Bowbelle was also lost. Having been sold to a Madeiran dredging company and renamed Bom Rei, she split in half and sank on 25 March 1996 off the coast of Ponta do Sol, Madeira. The Tubarao Madeira Diving Organisation discovered the wreck six months after it sank. The wreck is still in good condition and offers refuge to a varied range of fish and marine life. After only a short time, marine plants grew in abundance on the wreck and the boat has become an attraction for divers.

Not far from the site of the disaster, a memorial to the victims can be found in the nave of Southwark Cathedral, 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, although others thought it "crucial" that it be broadcast, "an excellent adaptation of the full horror of what happened."

In 2011 survivor Magda Allani published a personal account of the sinking and events surrounding it, Dark Waters - Chronicle of a Story Untold, gaining some substantial UK media coverage.