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Remote memorial for 193 Herald of Free Enterprise victims through St Mary's Church, Dover

The first remote memorial for the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster takes place on Saturday.

Last year's service was in person as always as it was just weeks before the first pandemic lockdown.

The Herald of Free Enterprise at sea
The Herald of Free Enterprise at sea

St Mary' the Virgin Church in Dover is doing a short service by recorded Zoom link at 10am.

It will then be put onto YouTube for members of the public to see.

Details of how it can be reached will be given later.

The annual event is organised by the Sailors' Society.

Director Melanie Warman told Kent Online: "Letters should be arriving with families early this week.

The 30th anniversary memorial for Herald victims at S Mary's Church, 2017. Picture: Chris Davey
The 30th anniversary memorial for Herald victims at S Mary's Church, 2017. Picture: Chris Davey

"We are giving them the zoom link and have enclosed a prayer written for the commemorations this year."

This year's service is for 20 minutes and starts with a welcome by church vicar the Rev Melissa Carter.

David Slater, from the Port of Dover Chaplaincy will lead the act of remembrance and all 193 names of those who died will be read out. Chaplains will afterwards pray on the seafront.

The Rv Carter told Kent Online: "Last year were were able to hold the usual memorial with a congregation in the church.

"This year we are pleased we can have some sort of memorial despite the pandemic although it will have to be shorter."

The capsized Herald of Free Enterprise at Zeebrugge, March 6, 1987.
The capsized Herald of Free Enterprise at Zeebrugge, March 6, 1987.

The sinking of the Dover Townsend Thoresen ferry was one of the worst ever British peace time maritime disasters.

The vessel capsized minutes after leaving the Belgian port of Zeebrugge on the evening of March 6, 1987.

The bow doors of the roll-on-roll-off eight-deck vessel had not been closed and water immediately flooded the car deck.

The ship, laden with 543 mainly British passengers and 145 vehicles weighed about 1,100 tonnes.

It was was busier than usual where about 100 passengers had taken advantage of the Sun newspaper's £1 crossing offer.

The immediate cause of the sinking was found in a public inquiry to be negligence by the assistant boatswain, who was asleep in his cabin when he should have been closing the bow doors.

However, the official inquiry, in late 1987, placed more blame on his supervisors and a general culture of poor communication in Townsend Thoresen.

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