The Norwegian Maritime Authority has reported an increase in the number of incidents involving commercial vessels in the past year.
A total of 1,154 incidents were registered on commercial vessels in 2024. Half of these were accidents and the other half were near misses. This represents an increase of about six percent in incidents compared to 2023, according to Vegar Berntsen, Section Manager, Risk Management and Analysis, Norwegian Maritime Directorate. According to Berntsen, smaller vessels are primarily the ones that sink, with the majority being fishing vessels. Additionally, four cargo ships have also sunk.
However, cargo ships are the vessel group with the most accidents in 2024, accounting for half of the accidents. The corresponding figures for fishing vessels and passenger ships are 24 and 25 percent, respectively.
Furthermore, in recent years, Norway has seen a high number of accidents, with an average of 565 incidents recorded between 2020 and 2024. The last time the number of accidents exceeded this figure was in 2008, when 659 accidents were registered.
Berntsen explains that there may be also hidden figures due to underreporting in previous years, which could potentially impact the results of this analysis.
Most of the incidents in the directorate’s database are associated with Norwegian vessels. In 2024, this proportion accounted for 95 percent of the incidents.
Five people died on board commercial vessels. That’s five too many, and five families that will never be the same again. The only positive thing we can draw from the numbers is that it is a halving compared to 2023.
…said Alf Tore Sørheim, Acting Director of Maritime Affairs.
Of the total of 566 accidents in 2024, 294 were ship accidents, while 272 were personal accidents. There has been an increase in ship accidents, while personal accidents remain at the same level as the previous year. Twenty six more ship accidents have been registered in 2024.
