Data extracted in October 2024.
Planned article update: October 2025.
Highlights
Worldwide, 12 persons lost their lives in maritime accidents involving ships registered in EU countries in 2023, down from 30 in 2022.
Only 2 passengers lost their lives in maritime accident fatalities in the EU in 2023.
Persons killed in maritime accidents, by region of ship registration, 2019-2023
This article presents the latest statistical data on maritime accident fatalities involving ships registered in the European Union (EU), by region where the accident occurred, by ship type and by role of person killed. Additionally, information is given on the fatalities resulting from accidents involving non-EU registered ships in EU territorial waters. The data are based on maritime accidents and incidents reported by the accident investigation bodies of the EU countries, Iceland and Norway to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
The number of persons killed in accidents with EU-registered ships decreased significantly in 2023
Worldwide, 12 persons were killed in maritime accidents involving EU-registered ships in 2023 (see Figure 1). During the period 2019-2023, the number of persons who lost their lives in maritime accidents involving EU-registered ships fluctuated year-on-year. After reaching a peak in 2019 with 40 fatalities, a sharp fall followed in 2020, where the number of fatalities were almost divided by two (21 fatalities). This may be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic and the slowdown in maritime activities. In 2021, the number of fatalities slightly increased to 25, followed by another slight increase to 30, in 2022. In 2023, the number of fatalities fell to 12, a 60% decrease compared with 2022. On average, over the period 2019-2023, there were 25.6 fatalities per year in such accidents.
Figure 1 also provides the number of persons who lost their lives in EU territorial seas in accidents involving ships registered outside the EU. From 2019 to 2020, the number of such deaths increased from 10 in 2019 to 18 in 2020. In 2021, the number of fatalities registered dropped to 9, and remained stable at 7 in 2022 and 8 in 2023.
(number)
Source: Eurostat (tran_sf_marv), based on data from the European Maritime Safety Agency
Out of the 12 fatalities in accidents involving EU-registered vessels in 2023, 10 occurred in EU seas
The data in Figure 2 on people killed in maritime accidents cover accidents involving EU-registered ships in all parts of the world, both those occurring in the territorial seas of the EU countries, and those outside EU seas.
In 2023, 7 persons were killed in the Mediterranean Sea, accounting for 58.3% of the total death toll from such accidents. Two people were killed in the North Sea and 1 in the Atlantic Ocean, representing 16.7% and 8.3%, respectively. No fatalities were recorded in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the English Channel. The 2 remaining fatalities were caused by accidents involving EU-registered ships in other regions of the world, corresponding to a share of 16.7%.
.png)
(% of persons killed)
Source: Eurostat (tran_sf_marv), based on data from the European Maritime Safety Agency
In 2023, 5 persons were killed in accidents involving EU-registered cargo ships
The number of accidents leading to loss of lives are relatively few among EU-registered ships. Hence, even small fluctuations in the number of people killed in accidents involving different types of vessels can bring about substantial fluctuations in the percentages of deaths by ship type. In 2023, 5 persons lost their lives in accidents involving EU-registered cargo ships, corresponding to almost half (41.7%) of the total (Figure 3). This was way lower than between 2019 and 2021, where 15 or 16 fatalities were registered. Only 1 fatality was registered in accidents involving passenger ships in 2023, a 92.9% decrease compared with 2022 when 14 fatalities were recorded. No fatalities were registered in this category in 2020.
When it comes to accidents involving fishing vessels, there was only 1 fatality in 2023. This is in stark contrast to the average of 4 deaths per year that occurred between 2019 and 2023 in this category. The number of fatalities in accidents involving a service ship remained stable in 2023, with 3 persons losing their lives. This is consistent with the figures from 2021 and 2022, where 4 and 3 persons were killed, respectively. In the remaining 2 ship categories, 1 person was killed in an accident involving a recreational craft, down from 3 in 2022, while no fatalities were registered in any accident involving an inland waterway vessel, where the only fatality over the last 5 years occurred in 2021. One fatality was also registered in an accident involving an unknown type of ship.
.png)
(number)
Source: Eurostat (tran_sf_marves), based on data from the European Maritime Safety Agency
In 2023, 10 crew members were killed in accidents on EU-registered ships
Between 2019 and 2023, there were 15 passenger fatalities in EU-registered ship accidents, with 13 occurring in 2022, making up nearly 50% of the total fatalities that year (43.3%) (Figure 4).
The number of crew members killed in accidents decreased from 37 in 2019 to 21 in 2020, accounting for 100% of the persons killed that year, before stabilising at 23 in 2021. A sharp fall to 14 was registered in 2022 and 10 in 2023 (83.3% of total deaths).
In the 'other persons' category, which covers service personnel, dock workers, pilots, inspectors, etc., 8 persons accidentally lost their lives over the period 2019-2023. Three persons in this category were killed in 2019, 2 in 2021 and 3 in 2022, while no fatalities were registered in 2020 and 2023.
.png)
(number)
Source: Eurostat (tran_sf_marvper), based on data from the European Maritime Safety Agency
The Mediterranean Sea claimed 7 lives in accidents with EU-registered ships in 2023
Table 1 provides an overview of persons killed in maritime accidents involving EU-registered ships in different seas. The number of deaths in Mediterranean Sea accidents averaged more than 8 per year from 2019 to 2023. It increased from 5 in 2019 to 8 in 2020, then dropped to 6 in 2021. In 2022, 17 persons lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea, before dropping to 7 in 2023, accounting for 58.3% of the total number of deaths. In the period 2019-2023, 35 persons died in accidents involving EU-registered ships in the Atlantic Ocean, dropping from 20 deaths in 2019 to 3 in 2020 before increasing to 5 in 2021 and 6 in 2022. In 2023, only 1 person lost their life in the Atlantic Ocean, a decrease of 83.3% compared with the previous year.
In 2023, there were no fatalities in the Baltic Sea for the first time in 5 years. One fatality was registered in 2019 and 2020, increasing to 6 fatalities in 2021. In 2022, 3 people lost their lives in the Baltic Sea. In the North Sea, 5 persons were killed in 2019, while no death occurred in 2020. In 2021, 3 deaths were recorded before dropping to 1 death in 2022 and increasing to 2 deaths in 2023. In the Black Sea, there were no fatalities during period 2019-23. Within the busy English Channel, only 1 person was killed in such accidents in 2021. The number of fatalities in accidents involving EU-registered ships outside European waters dropped to 2 in 2023, down from an annual average of 5 between 2019 and 2023.
.png)
(number)
Source: Eurostat (tran_sf_marv), based on data from the European Maritime Safety Agency
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
The data on maritime transport accidents are collected by the national independent investigative bodies in the EU countries, Iceland and Norway. These data are reported to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) through the centralised database European Marine Casualty Information Platform (EMCIP). The same concepts and definitions are applied by all reporting countries. The accidents investigated cover marine incidents and casualties that:
- involve ships registered in the country;
- occur within country's territorial seas and internal waters;
- involve other substantial interests of the country.[1]
The maritime accident data are provided to Eurostat by EMSA under an Administrative Agreement between the two bodies, signed on 29 March 2017, concerning their technical cooperation in the field of maritime transport accident statistics. EMSA is responsible for the entire process of data collection and management. It should be noted that the data may be adjusted when final reports on all marine casualties and incidents have been provided to EMSA by the national independent accident investigation bodies.
The data on maritime accidents disseminated by Eurostat are available from reference year 2011 onwards. The measurement unit is the number of persons that lost their lives in maritime accidents or have sustained serious or minor injuries. Data in Eurostat's free dissemination database are available on an annual basis.
The statistics are grouped according where the vessels are registered ('EU-registered' or 'Registered in other country'), type of vessel (cargo ship, passenger ship, fishing vessel, service ship or other vessel), the category of person affected (crew, passenger or other person) and the ocean region in which the accident occurred. Only data related to moving vessels are included. Regarding fishing vessels, only vessels over 15 meters long are included.
Geographical coverage
Data are provided to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) by the accident investigation bodies of the EU countries, Norway and Iceland, as foreseen by Accident Investigation Directive (Directive 2009/18/EC) on the investigation of accidents in maritime transport (also known as the 'Accident Investigation Directive' or 'AI Directive'). All accidents are recorded by the responsible national authorities.
Detailed country data are confidential and, consequently, not disseminated. Information related to the country of registration of the ship or the coastal state is grouped under either: 'EU countries', 'Non-EU countries', or 'Unknown' (if relevant).
Marine accidents are categorised according to the ocean region where they occurred, not to the country that reported the accident. The 'Rest of the world' category is used when the accident did not occur in the territorial seas of one of the EU countries, but involved a vessel registered in an EU country.
EU aggregates
The European Union is composed of 27 Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
Czechia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia are landlocked countries without ocean or sea coasts.
EU territorial seas
The EU territorial seas are made up of the territorial seas and internal waters of the EU Member States. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines the 'territorial sea' of a country as the area within which the sovereignty of a coastal State extends, beyond its land territory and internal waters. It is a belt of coastal water extending at most 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state.
The EMSA data on maritime accidents and fatalities group accidents that occur in EU territorial seas according to the ocean regions in which these territorial waters lie: Baltic Sea, North Sea, English Channel, Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea. In this context, accidents occurring in international waters or in the territorial waters of non-EU countries are not included in these regions of EU territorial waters, but are categorised as 'Rest of the world'.
Marine casualty
The datasets disseminated by Eurostat contain data on persons who lost their lives and persons that sustained injuries in maritime accidents.
A marine casualty is defined as an event (or sequence of events) in connection with the operations of a ship, resulting in any of the following:
- death or serious injury of a person;
- loss of a person from a ship;
- loss, presumed loss or abandonment of a ship;
- material damage to a ship;
- stranding or disabling of a ship, or involvement of a ship in a collision;
- material damage to marine infrastructure external to a ship that could seriously endanger the safety of the ship, another ship or an individual; or
- severe damage to the environment, or the potential for severe damage to the environment due to the damage of a ship.
However, a marine casualty does not include a deliberate act or omission with the intention of affecting the safety of a ship, an individual or the environment.
Ship types
- Cargo ship: a commercial ship designed for the carriage of various types of cargo, goods or products and up to a maximum of 12 passengers.
- Fishing vessel: a vessel equipped or used commercially for catching fish or other living resources at sea.
- Passenger ship: a ship designed to transport more than 12 passengers.
- Service ship: a ship designed for special services, like a tugboat or a dredger.
- Other ships: such vessels are only considered when involved in an accident or other incident that includes a ship covered by the Accident Investigation Directive (Directive 2009/18/EC) or when the incidence occurs in a maritime area such as a maritime port. Such ships may be:
- Inland waterway vessel: a vessel intended solely or mainly for navigation on inland waterways.
- Recreational craft: a boat of any type, regardless of the means of propulsion, intended for sports or leisure purposes.
- Navy ship: a ship operating under the navy or other military organisation.
- Unknown ship type: occurrence for which it was not possible to identify the vessel type.
Only data related to moving vessels (and over 15 meters for fishing vessels) are provided to Eurostat.
Accidents related to inland waterway vessels are excluded from the Eurostat tables when the accident took place on an inland waterway.
Context
Shipping is of strategic importance to the EU's economy: every year, 2 billion tonnes of cargo are loaded and unloaded at EU ports, while 1 billion tonnes of oil transits through EU ports and EU territorial seas. Each year, more than 400 million passengers embark and disembark at European ports. Overall, maritime industries are an important source of employment and income for the European economy. This is why the EU is constantly developing and intensifying its maritime safety policy.
The European Union and its Member States are at the forefront of improving maritime safety legislation and promoting high-quality standards. The aim is to eliminate substandard shipping, increase the protection of passengers and crews, reduce the risk of environmental pollution, and ensure that operators who follow good practices are not put at a commercial disadvantage compared with those prepared to take shortcuts with vessel safety.
The EU has put in place an extensive legislative framework for safety, environmental protection and quality shipping. The EU's action in the field of maritime safety and protection of the environment enhances international legal conventions such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which are both overseen by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Amongst its other important tasks, EMSA collects safety data and shares it with the Commission, as arranged in the Administrative Arrangement between Eurostat and EMSA.
International law requires that countries affected by an accident at sea investigate the causes and propose ways of preventing recurrences in the future. The idea underpinning Directive 2009/18/EC governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector is to improve maritime safety by providing clear EU guidelines for the harmonisation of technical investigations and lessons learnt after accidents at sea, without determining or assigning any civil or criminal liability.
Notes
- ↑ For the definition of such substantial interests, please refer to Article 4.11 of the International Maritime Organisation's Resolution A.849(20) Code for the Investigation of Marine Casualties.
Explore further
Other articles
Database
- Transport, see detailed datasets
- Transport safety (tran_sf)
- Maritime transport safety (tran_sf_mar)
- Maritime accident victims by region of occurrence and country of registry of vessels (tran_sf_marv)
- Maritime accident victims by region of occurrence, country of registry of vessels and category of victims (tran_sf_marvper)
- Maritime accident victims by region of occurrence, country of registry of vessels and type of vessels (tran_sf_marves)
- Maritime transport safety (tran_sf_mar)
Thematic section
Publications
- Eurostat: Key figures on European transport – 2023 edition
- European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA): Annual Overview of Marine Casualties and Incidents 2024 [1]
Selected datasets
- Transport, see selected datasets
Methodology
- Maritime transport safety (ESMS metadata file — tran_sf_mar)
- Eurostat/United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)/International Transport Forum (ITF): Glossary for transport statistics — 5th edition (2019)
External links
- European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)
- European Commission – DG Mobility and Transport (MOVE)
- European Commission – DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE)
- International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
Legislation
- Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency.
- Summary of EU legislation - Maritime safety: European Maritime Safety Agency
- Directive 2009/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector and amending Council Directive 1999/35/EC and Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council