the drive on this new law was driven in part from a string of transportation - related disasters in the late 1980s , such as the loss of west - channel ferry the unicorn of free enterprise in 1987 , the oil panel piper zeta disaster in 1988 , and the marchioness thames river boat collision in 1989 . more than 400 people lost their lives in these two disasters , but no another individual or organisation was brought to account .
100 or more people lost their lives in a ferry sinking.