The Marchioness: A gay party that ended in disaster

In the early hours of 20 August 1989, the Marchioness sank - resulting in the deaths of 51 people.

A pleasure boat on the River Thames in London, people hired the Marchioness for parties - enjoying a night of drinking and dancing while the boat gently floated up and down the river that defines the capital of the UK.

130 people were on board the Marchioness on the night that it sank. Four crew and bar staff and 126 party guests.

The 19th of August was a Saturday night and the Marchioness had been hired for a birthday party. Jonathan Phang was the organiser of the party, celebrating the 26th birthday of Antonio Vasconcellos.

Phang was a photographic agent and Vasconcellos worked in a merchant bank. They were boyfriends. Most of their guests were gay men.

At about 1:46 AM, just after the Marchioness had passed under Southwark Bridge and was heading downstream towards Canon Street Bridge, she was hit by a dredger ship called the Bowbelle. The Bowbelle was a larger ship than the Marchioness - it was also heading downstream. The Bowbelle effectively sailed over the top of of the Marchioness, sinking it immediately.

The Marchioness sank so quickly that most people were unable to locate or use the life rafts, buoys or jackets. Survival depended partly on their location within the vessel - those on the forward deck had more chance of getting clear of the boat.

The cause of the accident was found to be poor look-out on both vessels - the Bowbelle didn't see the Marchioness and the safety procedures on the Thames were insufficient to prevent the collision.

Remembering those who died on the Marchioness

• Peter Alcorn (aged 23)
• Christopher Averill (aged 20)
• David Ayres (aged 29)
• Sophie Bennett (aged 23)
• Rupert Blackburn (aged 25)
• Timothy Blake (aged 30)
• Jane Bourke (aged 20)
• Paul Brookman (aged 19)
• Michael Carew (aged 41)
• Isla Carroll (aged 22)
• John Clarke (aged 31)
• Tamsin Cole (aged 24)
• Shaun Lockwood Croft (aged 26)
• Francesca Dallaglio (aged 19)
• Sheila Daubeney (aged 52)
• Luis de la Huerta (aged 26)
• Howard Dennis (aged 29)
• Lino Di Girolamo (aged 28)
• Marino Drusetta (aged 30)
• Paul Ellington (aged 19)
• Stephen Faldo (aged 29)
• Christopher Garnham (aged 31)
• Michael Gatehouse (aged 46)
• Jeffrey Gibbs (aged 27)
• Carmella Lennon Gorman (aged 41)
• Ruth Hadden (aged 32)
• Guy Hallez (aged 38)
• Hannah Harris (aged 21)
• David Highfield (aged 33)
• Lee Hunt (aged 19)
• Julie Hunt (aged 26)
• Julie Ibbotson (aged 23)
• Karen Jarvis (aged 28)
• Peter Jaye (aged 27)
• Dianne Lim (aged 25)
• Neville Lovelock (aged 29)
• Elsa Garcia Magaldi (aged 25)
• Shirleen Manning (aged 28)
• Tony Lo Manyen (aged 33)
• Dean Palmer (aged 22)
• France Langlands-Pearce (aged 29)
• Stephen Perks (aged 23)
• Angela Plevey (aged 29)
• Rachael Rackow (aged 25)
• Simon Senior (aged 20)
• Vida Shamash (aged 21)
• Aziz Shamash (aged 20)
• Julian Tremain (aged 28)
• Antonio E Vasconcellos (aged 26)
• Domingos E Vasconcellos (aged 28)
• Linda Webster (aged 27)