the motivation along this new law was driven in part from a string of transport - linked disasters in the early 1980s , such as the sinking of cross - channel carrier the spirit of liberated enterprise in 1987 , the oil spill piper alpha disasters in 1988 , and the marchioness bridge river boat collision in 1989 . more than 400 people lost their lives in these 3 disasters , but no one man or organised was brought to account .
100 or more people lost their lives in a ferry sinking.