Maritime accident fatalities involving EU-registered ships rose slightly in 2024, with 13 people killed worldwide, according to Eurostat data.
The figures were based on reports submitted by EU member states, Iceland and Norway to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
All deaths occurred in EU territorial seas. A further nine people were killed in EU waters in accidents involving ships registered outside the bloc.
The dataset covers accidents involving EU-registered vessels in any ocean region, while figures for non-EU ships refer only to incidents occurring in EU territorial seas.
Between 2020 and 2024, accidents involving EU-flagged vessels resulted in an average of 19 deaths per year. Fatalities rose from 16 in 2020 to 29 in 2022 as maritime activity resumed after the pandemic, then fell to 11 in 2023 before increasing to 13 in 2024.
Deaths in accidents involving non-EU ships in EU waters dropped from 15 in 2020 to six in 2021, increased to seven in 2022, peaked at 22 in 2023 and declined to nine in 2024.
All fatalities involving EU-registered vessels in 2024 occurred in EU seas. Seven people died in the Atlantic Ocean, five in the Mediterranean and one in the North Sea.
No deaths were recorded in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the English Channel or in regions outside Europe, the first year in five without any fatalities reported beyond EU seas.
Across the five-year period, the Mediterranean recorded the widest swings. Fatalities increased from three in 2020 to 18 in 2022, accounting for more than 60 per cent of that year’s total, before stabilising at five in both 2023 and 2024.
In the Atlantic, 23 people lost their lives between 2020 and 2024, with annual totals ranging from one in 2023 to eight in 2021.
The North Sea saw numbers fluctuate between zero and three. No deaths were reported in the Black Sea at any point, and the English Channel recorded only one fatality, in 2021.
Fishing vessels accounted for most deaths in 2024. Nine people were killed in accidents involving EU-registered fishing ships, compared with one in 2023.
Passenger vessels recorded two fatalities, following a year with none, while cargo ships also reported two deaths.
No fatalities occurred on inland waterway vessels, recreational craft or service ships. These categories have historically registered low numbers, with the highest recorded in 2021 when four people died in accidents involving service ships.
All 13 people killed in 2024 were crew members. Crew fatalities peaked at 24 in 2021, representing more than 92 per cent of all deaths that year, before falling to 13 in 2022 and nine in 2023.
Passenger deaths have been significantly less frequent. Fifteen were recorded between 2020 and 2024, with 13 occurring in 2022 alone.
No passenger fatalities were reported in 2020, 2021, 2023 or 2024. The category covering dock workers, pilots, inspectors and service personnel accounted for five fatalities during the period, with none reported in 2020, 2023 or 2024.
Cyprus, one of the EU’s largest open registries, forms part of these totals, as accidents involving Cyprus-flagged vessels are reported to EMSA through the European Marine Casualty Information Platform (EMCIP) in line with Directive 2009/18/EC and Regulation 376/2014.
The island’s Marine Accident and Incident Investigation Committee (MAIC) has published several fatal accident reports in recent years, including the SWE-Carrier investigation involving a death on a Cyprus-flagged vessel, a man-over-board fatality on the Cyprus-registered bulk carrier EVNIA, and a 2024 fatal mooring-line accident on the Cyprus-flagged FIONA B.
