What was the name of the pleasure steamer sunk in a collision with the dredger Bowbelle on the Thames in 1989?
Marchioness disaster Marchioness disaster The "Marchioness" disaster was a fatal collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London on 20 August 1989, which resulted in the drowning of 51 people. The pleasure steamer "Marchioness" sank after being pushed under by the dredger "Bowbelle", late at night close to Cannon Street Railway Bridge. A formal inquiry blamed poor lookouts on both vessels, and inadequate instruction of both crews. Four new lifeboat stations were later installed on the river. "Marchioness" was a pleasure steamer built in 1923 and was one of the little ships of Dunkirk in 1940. On 19 August 1989,
The Thames (steamship) The Thames (steamship) The Thames was a British steamship lost in 1877 while exploring the western part of the northeast passage (the sea route east from Europe to northern Russia and East Asia which runs north of Siberia). With financial backing from Charles Gardiner, Joseph Wiggins – an experienced sea captain who had already twice sailed to the north of Russia, once entering the Kara Sea – purchased "The Thames", a 120 ton screw steamer, with the intent of surveying the Gulf of Ob and the Yenisei River and returning with profitable cargo. "The Thames" left Vardø in Norway on