Over the past year, the port of Amsterdam saw the total number of maritime accidents in 32, down from 44 the previous year. Around 7,000 seagoing vessels arrived in the North Sea Canal Area in 2017, including nearly 4,700 in the Port of Amsterdam, while approximately 40,000 barges called at the port region.
Commenting on the news, Amsterdam Harbour Master Marleen van de Kerkhof stated:
While the number of ship calls has remained level, the number of maritime accidents has fallen in recent years. The reason for this decline is the preventive measures taken by the Port to increase the safety of, and improve safety awareness among, Port users. These measures include risk-driven surveillance by the inspectors and Port officials of the Harbour Master’s Division. The Port’s involvement in several national taskforces, including the Safe Boating! initiative, has also helped to improve safety on the water.
Highlights in past 3 years
- The last three years saw 120 maritime accidents
- During this period, 21,106 seagoing vessels and 117,996 barges called at the Port
- Most common accident types: collisions with objects, mostly near lock complexes
- Technical failures (e.g. outages) are often the cause of vessels running aground or crashing against the wharf
- Most collisions occur during manoeuvring and are limited to minor vessel damage
- Number of collisions involving ferries on transport axis: 6
- The unilateral accidents mainly involve reports of small on-board fires
