Companies operating similar "roll-on, roll-off" (or Ro-Ro) ferries have not responded to efforts by the managers of the now privately owned company British Maritime Technology (BMT) to point out the design weaknesses of such craft. One consequence is that a modern test tank, with facilities to simulate ocean wave conditions, has been mothballed.
The speed with which the Herald of Free Enterprise turned over has brought to light the fact that BMT's specialists, following an investigation of the capsizing of another Ro-Ro ferry, had warned that it could happen again. BMT had suggested that the 1982 capsizing of the ferry European Gateway following a collision pointed to serious design weaknesses in such ships and had offered to mount a two-year research program.
David Goodridge, managing director of BMT, told a newspaper here that not one of 24 ferry operators had accepted his offer, made last November. When questioned, many operators ...
