Kelvin D:
It seems this was a common occurrence with that company's vessels. Not only was it a British crew that caused the disaster, it was also a British company that pooh poohed the concerns of all of their Captains when they had demanded door open/closed indicators for the bow doors. These ferries had "clam shell" type doors which opened horizontally and there were invisible to the bridge (unlike the traditional vertical raising doors which can be seen from the bridge when open. Add to that the fact that the Captains had no way of knowing the vessel's draught or even the actual number of passengers carried on each trip, sometimes sailing with more than 1,200 passengers when they were licensed for 630! A horrible read!
I was on a RoRo ship that always berthed next to those ferries and we called them a disaster waiting to happen. They always left port with their bow visir open, always. And they never cared about the speed limits inside the breakwater. It was full speed astern, then normally narrowing avoiding fishing vessels during starboard turn followed by full speed ahead before they passed the mole.
On our humble RoRo we never released one rope before we had all green on the bridge, meaning all gates and ramps were closed and secure and that the locking bolts had actuated the micro switches in a locked position.
A terrible tragedy, unfortunately to be expected.
As for the vessel's draught. Go ashore, walk along the length of the ship, there are painted foot/meter marks bow, stern and frequently center. They could not be bothered.