The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) released its “Annual Overview of Marine Casualties and Incidents 2025” report, which provides an analysis of accidents and incidents from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2024. The report notes a long-term downward trend in fatalities, with 609 lives lost in 416 incidents between 2015 and 2024, and identifies injuries as being most frequently caused by falls, collisions, and physical stress. The report also highlights a significant increase in abandoned seafarers in 2024 compared to the previous year.
- Marine casualties and incidents: The report analyzes data for the period from 2015 to 2024, with a total of 2,659 marine casualties and incidents reported in 2024 by EU member states.
- Fatalities: Over the 2015–2024 period, there was a decreasing trend in fatalities. A total of 609 lives were lost in 416 marine casualties during this time.
- Injuries: From 2015 to 2024, 7,479 injuries resulted from 6,534 marine casualties and incidents.
- In 2024, 84.7% of those injured were crew members.
- The most frequent causes of injuries in 2024 were body movement under physical stress (generally leading to internal injury) for occurrences with persons, and collision and contacts for occurrences with ships.
- Abandoned seafarers: The number of abandoned seafarers increased significantly in 2024, with 312 vessels abandoned, a 136% increase from the previous year.
Report details: The full report is available as a PDF on the EMSA website.