A mixed bag of interesting maritime developments has been revealed by the UK’s Maritime Accident Investigation Branch annual report for 2024, which has just been released.
The annual report is extraordinarily wide-ranging, including a range of non-commercial shipping sectors, so there are a scattering of interesting facts, across a variety of maritime domains. We here focus on the freight-carrying shipping aspects.
Watchkeeping
UK MAIB Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Capt. Andrew Moll OBE notes that “significant collisions between, and groundings of, merchant vessels show no sign of reducing”. He refers to a variety of incidents that are apparently caused in some way by watchkeeping practices, which, the Captain suggests, “indicated a need to radically re-think the role of human watchkeepers in the digital age”.
Although noting that humans will tend to find other things to occupy themselves if they are under stimulated, the Captain also notes that humans can also “be reluctant to utilise system functions that will alert them to impending problems.
Work volumes
Noting the backlog of work, changes to what it will investigate, and the various changes in the UK public service, the MAIB observes that there were 1,631 reports of accidents to UK vessels around the world and / or vessels within UK waters during 2024. A total of 1,753 vessels were involved. There were 1,510 recorded notifications within the scope of the appropriate regulations and the MAIB presents a statistical overview of 950 accidents, involving 1,017 commercial vessels (all types; many incidents involved fishing vessels). There were 703 “marine incidents” involving UK commercial vessels or non-UK commercial vessels in UK waters, 63 of which were “serious” and 17 of which were “very serious”.
There were 12 marine incidents that were “serious” and 38 incidents that were “less serious” that involved UK merchant vessels of greater than 100 gross tons. There was one marine incident that was “very serious” and 21 marine incidents that were “serious” involving non-UK merchant vessels in UK waters.
Vessel incident reports (some of which go back several years)
Contact of a chemical tanker with a jetty in late 2022 involving the following safety issues: fatigue affecting a pilot’s decision-making, ineffective master / pilot exchanges; failure to learn from previous accidents; ineffective control of risks.
Fall from height on a bulk carrier leading to a fatality in 2023 involving the following safety issues: poor barrier controls, no risk assessment, poor safety management, ineffective coordination and communication, limited access to safety guidance.
Fatal crush accident aboard a ro-ro cargo vessel during cargo operations in 2021 involving the following safety issues: routine and widespread divergence from safe working practices, no safe system for loading high-risk stowage spaces, ineffective supervision of vehicle deck operations, insufficient organisational learning and improvement.
Capsize and sinking of a tug, with two fatalities, in early 2023, involving the following safety issues: towage plan not understood and agreed by all parties; tug’s gob rope was unable to withstand the force exerted upon it; passenger vessel’s speed exceeded port guidance; open watertight doors prevented the tug from remaining afloat; inadequate training and experience.
Fatal accident during mooring operations onboard a bulker in Chile in 2021, involving the following safety issues: guidance did not include the risk of vertical recoil of mooring lines; risks of manoeuvring with mooring lines attached were not identified; poor communication between the ship and shore.
Collision between a general cargo vessel and a split hopper barge resulting in two fatalities in Sweden, involving the following safety issues: no lookout in darkness; distraction of watchkeeper; alcohol impairment; and management of ships’ crews.
Grounding of a general cargo vessel off the coast of Scotland in 2021, involving the following safety issues: disregard of company alcohol policy, absence of lookout in hours of darkness, disablement of Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System, poor passage planning management.
Failure of a towline pennant resulting in a crew injury in 2019, involving the following safety issues: insufficient induction for temporary crew due to commercial pressure, ineffective vessel condition assessment, ineffective tow winch maintenance led to its contamination and subsequent slippage, failure to identify the condition of the pennant as unfit for purpose, inability of the wheelhouse windows to withstand towline snapback impact.
Cargo tank explosion aboard a chemical tanker with a subsequent fire in South Korea, 2019: the MAIB recommended that the IMO should revise Section 15.13 of the IBC Code to include in the certificate of protection the actions to be taken in the event of a cargo falling outside of the manufacturer’s specified oxygen and temperature limits, and that any actions should be realistic, taking account of the limitations on board ships regarding the monitoring, adding, and mixing of inhibitor during the voyage. MAIB reports that no action on this recommendation has been planned as yet.
MAIB also recommended to the Chemical Distribution Institute that it should amend its publication ‘Chemical Tanker Operations for the STCW Advanced Training Course – A Practical Guide to Chemical Tanker Operations’ to make it clear that the stowage of heated and inhibited cargoes can result in a dynamic situation in which the degree of heat transfer may be complex and difficult to predict, and that one tank separation between heated and heat sensitive cargoes might not be sufficient. The MAIB reports that an appropriate action is planned for 01 September 2026.
Details of injuries to crew on UK merchant ships of at least 100 gross tons in 2024
There were at least 91 crew injuries and no crew deaths on UK merchant vessels of at least 100 gross tons in 2024 (there were, however, 151 passenger injuries and one passenger death). Just over 26% of the injuries to crew in this category occurred to hotel service staff. This result appears to be the result of multiple and varied incidents involving recreational craft of all kinds. Approximately 25 injuries occurred to deck officers and just over 14 occurred to engineering crew.
Most injuries (over 47%) occurred in the accommodation block and approximately 33% occurred somewhere on the ship that was not the engine, the accommodation or the cargo areas.
About 47% of all injuries occurred on the upper limbs, just under 20% occurred on the lower limbs, just over 13% on the back, and just under 10% occurred on the head.
Overwhelmingly, the immediate trigger for injuries was some kind of slipping, stumbling, or falling, which led to 36 injuries. The second-greatest set of injuries were caused by some kind of uncoordinated movement, which accounted 25 injuries. Also of note were typical human movements (lifting / carrying / standing / pushing / pulling / twisting / turning) which together accounted for another 10 injuries.
Closed bone fractures were the most common injury (26), followed by sprains and strains (17), then superficial injuries (bruises, abrasions, blisters, etc) (10), then open wounds (10), followed by dislocations (8).
