The EMSA has published its Annual Overview of Marine Casualties and Incidents 2024, which presents statistics on marine casualties and incidents that cover the period from 1 of January 2014 to 31 of December 2023.
In 2023, most of the indicators, such as the number of occurrences, ships lost, fatalities or injuries, are near or below the average values for the entire period from 2014 to 2023.
In 2023, 2,676 marine casualties and incidents were reported, which represent an increase of 49 marine casualties and incidents compared to 2022 and a decrease of 66 marine casualties and incidents compared to 2021.
The total number of marine casualties and incidents reported in the period from 2014 to 2023 was 26,595 with an annual average of 2,660. The number of casualties and incidents in 2023 is 0.6% higher than the annual average and 0.7% higher than the pre-pandemic average of 2,658 occurrences.
After a peak of 106 very serious casualties reported in 2018 and a total of 77 in 2019, the number of very serious marine casualties was 52 in 2020, 61 in 2021, 57 in 2022 and 45 in 2023, indicating a downward trend.
In 2023, 2,896 ships were involved in marine casualties and incidents, an increase of 70 ships compared to 2022 but a decrease of 74 ships compared to 2021. There is a downward trend in cargo ships and fishing vessels.
Between 2014 and 2023, EU Accident Investigative Bodies launched 1,196 investigations and made public 1,001 safety investigation reports.
In 2023, 75 investigations were reported to have been launched, meaning a decrease of 21.9% in comparison with 2022. The number of investigations launched has been declining year by year since 2018.
Casualties and fatalities:
From 2014 to 2023, a total of 650 lives were lost in 444 marine casualties, with a decreasing trend observed over the period. In 2023, 89.7% of the victims were crew members whereas the average of fatalities of crew members for the period 2014 to 2023 was 86.9%.
The primary causes of fatalities in 2023 were ‘slipping / stumbling and fall’ for occurrences with persons and ‘collision’ for occurrences with ships, as for the entire 2014 to 2023 period.
From 2014 to 2023, there were a total of 7,604 injuries resulting from 6,623 marine casualties and incidents. The average number of injuries per year during this period was 760, with a minimum of 606 injuries reported in 2020. In 2023, 85.2% of the injured were crew members while the proportion of injured crew members over the entire period from 2014 to 2023 was 84.5%.
In 2023, the main events resulting in injuries were ‘body movement under or with physical stress (generally leading to an internal injury)’ for occurrences with persons and ‘collision’ for occurrences with ships. From 2014 to 2023, the predominant events causing injuries were ‘slipping / stumbling and fall’ for occurrences with persons and ‘collision’ for occurrences with ships.
The implementation of new fields in EMCIP relating to fatalities and injuries for each ship involved, instead of for the occurrence as a whole, have allowed this year a more detailed analysis of fatalities and injuries by ship type.
Ships lost and damaged:
In 2023, 11 ships were lost representing a 57.1% increase compared to 2022. Additionally, 695 ships were damaged marking a 52.6% raised from 2022. The number of ships considered unfit to proceed increased by 12.6% to 215 ships. Shore assistance was required for 730 ships, while 394 ships required towing resulting, respectively, in an increase of 16.8% and 13.9% compared to 2022. Furthermore, 24 ships, mainly fishing vessels, were abandoned reflecting a 20.0% rise. There were also 332 Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, showing a 5.4% increase from 2022.
Safety investigation reports:
From the analysis conducted in safety investigations, it was determined that, from 2014 to 2023, 58.4% of accident events were linked to human action and 49.8% of the contributing factors were related to human behaviour. When considering both human action events and human behaviour contributing factors together, human element relates to 80.1% of the investigated marine casualties and incidents. These trends are common for all ship types.
Safety recommendations:
Over the period from 2014 to 2023, the total number of safety recommendations issued, and actions taken reported was 2,691 and 44.8% of them were dealing with ship related procedures.
Read the report: EMSA Annual Overview of Marine Casualties and Incidents 2024
