MV Derbyshire was a British ore-bulk-oil combination carrier built in 1976 by Swan Hunter, as the last in the series of the Bridge-class sextet.

[3] MV Derbyshire was launched in late 1975 and entered service in June 1976, as the last ship of the Bridge-class combination carrier, originally named Liverpool Bridge.

[7] Derbyshire's sister ship Kowloon Bridge was lost off the coast of Ireland in 1986, following the observation of deck cracking, first discovered after an Atlantic crossing.

[11] Eventually, the bow was made vulnerable to the full force of the rough waves, which caused the massive hatch on the first cargo hold to buckle inward, allowing hundreds of tons of water to enter within seconds.

A third comprehensive analysis was subsequently done by Douglas Faulkner, professor of marine architecture and ocean engineering at the University of Glasgow.

The deck cargo hatches on the Derbyshire were determined to be the key point of failure when the rogue wave washed over the ship.

[13] Smith has documented scenarios where hydrodynamic pressure of up to 5,650 kilopascals (819 psi) or over 500 metric tonnes per square metre could occur.

[citation needed] The 20th anniversary of the vessel's loss was marked by a memorial service in Liverpool, England, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, himself a former merchant seaman.

[19] Ten years later a memorial service was held in the vessel's home port of Liverpool on the 30th anniversary of Derbyshire's loss.