In 2023, there were 12 fatalities in maritime accidents worldwide involving EU-registered ships, and another 8 fatalities in accidents within the EU territorial seas involving ships registered outside the EU.
Between 2019 and 2023, an average of 26 people died worldwide each year in maritime accidents involving EU-registered ships.
This information comes from data on maritime safety published recently. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on maritime accident fatalities in the EU.
Source dataset: tran_sf_marv
Among the 12 fatalities worldwide in accidents involving EU-registered ships in 2023, 7 happened in the Mediterranean Sea, 2 in the North Sea, 1 in Atlantic Ocean and 2 in the rest of the world.
When looking at the type of ship, 5 out of the 12 deaths were reported on cargo ships, 3 on service ships and 1 on each fishing ship, passenger ship and recreational craft, while for 1 death the type of ship was unknown.
Out of the 12 people who died in 2023, 10 were crew members working on ships and 2 were passengers.
Source: Eurostat, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=ddn-20241202-2
