Australia reports 4,174 marine incidents in 2025
AMSA's annual report records 4,174 marine incidents in 2025, including four fatalities and 228 injuries on domestic commercial vessels.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) received 4,174 marine incident reports in 2025, according to its Marine Incident Annual Report 2025, which analyses incidents across domestic commercial vessels (DCVs), foreign-flagged vessels and regulated Australian vessels to identify fleet-wide safety trends.
Across the fleet, marine incidents are most often linked to routine vessel operations and system reliability, with collisions, groundings and power, propulsion and system failures among the most common types. Operational shortfalls were involved in over half of DCV marine incidents, most commonly related to vessel control and navigation, including maintaining an effective lookout. Technical failures, particularly involving power, propulsion and steering systems, continue to present a consistent risk across all vessel types.
The human impact was significant. In 2025, DCV incidents resulted in four fatalities, 228 injuries including 44 serious injuries, and 92 person-overboard incidents, a 19% increase in person-overboard cases compared with 2024. Across regulated Australian vessels and foreign-flagged vessels, a further 206 injuries were reported, the majority involving crew. The most serious injuries were linked to operational activities, particularly navigation on DCVs and maintenance, operational access and cargo handling on the larger vessel categories.
AMSA said understanding what drives marine incidents helps owners, operators and crew focus on where action will have the greatest impact: strengthening onboard procedures, maintaining vessel systems and managing risks before incidents occur.
