Analysis of the Causes of Maritime Casualties

A survey of total loss accidents in merchant shipping over aperiod of 30 years shows that these can be arranged in the followingorder: stranding, fire, water-leaks, gales and collision;other accidents are also taken into consideration. The analysisconsiders ships over 500 GT of different flags, plying any routeof navigation.Initially, a sample of 500 merchant ships- of different typesand tonnage- and under 15 different flags is analyzed to determineage and type of ship, and the causes of accidents.In the second analysis, the same 15 flags are considered,but now over a wider range on a sample totalling 1,500 merchantships. The results of both analyses are compared. It isshown that all collisions together with gale amount to 25% ofmaritime casualty returns -in the total loss lists- while strandingand collision take more than 40% of the toll.