The most common incident is engine malfunction, followed by groundings. Collisions between ships occur too, but it is primarily collisions with other objects, usually quays, that account for many of the incidents.

The most common causes of accidents according to our statistics are:

• Technical faults i.e. faults in technical equipment such as the main engines, auxiliary engines and steering engines.

• External factors such as bad weather, narrow fairways, shallow waters.

• Lastly, but perhaps most significantly, accidents caused by poor communication, organization and procedures, as well as poor design and operation of equipment.

The reasons in this last point are most important in terms of prevention work since it is possible to influence them more than others. This is largely dependent on how well systematic safety work is implemented and developed on board, and the safety organization in general. Together these can bring about a good safety culture. One important part of good safety culture is the reporting of accidents and incidents. Over the past few years there has been a trend toward more reporting of less serious accidents and incidents, and a slight decline in serious accidents. However, this tendency was broken in 2019 when the number of serious accidents reported increased, while the number of less serious accidents reported declined slightly.