Ship safety incidents stable as enclosed space casualties rise

Accidents on ships are not decreasing, according to statistics covering several decades from multiple verified data sources collected by InterManager, and casualties from enclosed space incidents have seen a worrying recent increase.

The statistics submitted to the IMO Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments, due to take place from 22-26 July in London, showed a consistent number of seafarers being injured in falls and in rescue and survival craft accidents in 2022 and 2023. Despite 14 enclosed space incidents in both years, casualties in 2023 were 34 compared to 18 in 2022.

Where rank or role was recorded, two thirds of those who died in an enclosed space incident were from a ship’s leadership team of the master, chief engineer, chief officer and second engineer.

The level of fall accidents onboard and from ships has been steady at between 44 and 52 accidents per year over the past five years, with similar breakdowns by ship type and location onboard. 18 such accidents have been reported in the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) in the first four months of 2024.

Across all vessels and rigs with IMO numbers, 538 incidents including 50 near misses have been recorded since 1980 relating to handling of lifeboats and emergency craft. Only 19% of those incidents are available in GISIS, according to the shipmanagement association. 

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“The association notes there remains a significant lag between accident occurrence, its investigation, and the report being uploaded into the Marine Casualties and Incidents (MCI) module of the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS),” said InterManager. “It would be markedly beneficial to all analyses if this unwelcome lag could be decreased, or indeed eliminated.”

InterManager also said a lack of transparency and hesitation in sharing accidents undermined available statistics. A number of incidents included in its submission were reported in regional media and ship-type specific websites, but not in GISIS and elsewhere. Ship repair yards are not required to report to GISIS, omitting a number of enclosed space incidents, it added.

InterManager said it strongly recommends categories of specific operations – such as enclosed space, fall, personal transfer, lifeboat, mooring and other – be included in the data collection database of accidents by GISIS, Flag States, shipping companies, and other industry organisations to will assist regulators in reviewing procedures, improving safety and minimising accidents.

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Captain Kuba Szymanski, InterManager Secretary General, said: “Safety is very important to InterManager members and developing an effective safety culture is one of the central pillars of our General Principles of Conduct and Action. Collating these statistics on behalf of the industry enables us to proactively assist on a number of core safety issues and we are pleased that the IMO and other industry stakeholders are making use of them to protect the lives of seafarers.”