Serious injuries and deaths are decreasing among seafarers on European ships. This is shown in newly published statistics from the European Maritime Safety Agency, EMSA.

The number of serious accidents at work on European ships or on foreign ships in European waters has fallen dramatically in recent years from more than 350 registered cases in 2014 to 100 in 2017. The number of less serious accidents remains unchanged at approximately 600 per year. A total of around 800 work injury reports were sent to EMSA in 2017. Most were caused by personnel slipping, stumbling or falling. The next most common was injury due to body movement, and then losing control of a tool or a machine. Around 300 accidents took place on cargo ships and almost the same number on passenger ships. Most of them took place when the ship was in port areas (42%) or in coastal waters (28%). The most common place of injury on board was the engine room, where 23% of accidents occurred. The number of fatal accidents at sea has dropped by more than a half over the past few years, from 110 in 2015 to 45 in 2017. The majority of them took place on cargo ships when the ship capsized, took in water or collided.

The full report, “Annual overviews of marine casualties and incidents” can be read on the EMSA website.