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Incidents by Type
Each incident usually involves a series of events. For example, an incident could involve the collision of two vessels followed by the flooding of one vessel, which then capsizes. When an incident is reported, only the initial occurrence is recorded in the incident database. In the previous example this incident would be recorded as a collision of vessels only.
The incident type represents what actually occurred in the incident. By having aggregated data on incident types from all incidents, a full picture of what is occurring can be seen. This will focus attention on the most common occurrences and allow NMSC policy, legislation and standards to address these occurrences.
In the calendar years 2005 and 2006 there were 3077 reported incidents in Australia. Of these incidents, 646 (21%) involved a collision of vessels followed by unintentional groundings (16%) and vessel capsizings (8%). The full list of incidents by type is displayed below:
Rank |
Incident Type |
2005 |
2006 |
Total |
% of Total |
1 |
Collision of Vessels |
336 |
310 |
646 |
21.0 |
2 |
Unintentional Groundings |
242 |
256 |
498 |
16.2 |
3 |
Other |
104 |
139 |
243 |
7.9 |
4 |
Capsizing |
113 |
122 |
235 |
7.6 |
5 |
Collision with fixed object |
104 |
91 |
195 |
6.3 |
6 |
Sinking |
68 |
104 |
172 |
5.6 |
7 |
Swamping |
66 |
63 |
129 |
4.2 |
8 |
Person overboard |
52 |
71 |
123 |
4.0 |
9 |
Fire |
44 |
52 |
96 |
3.1 |
10 |
Collision with submerged object |
48 |
46 |
94 |
3.1 |
11 |
Falls within vessel |
41 |
47 |
88 |
2.9 |
12 |
Unknown |
38 |
42 |
80 |
2.6 |
13 |
Other onboard injury |
36 |
36 |
72 |
2.3 |
14 |
Other personal injury caused by an operating vessel |
32 |
28 |
60 |
1.9 |
15 |
Structural failure |
29 |
28 |
57 |
1.9 |
16 |
Collision with floating object |
26 |
24 |
50 |
1.6 |
17 |
Hit by person or vessel |
22 |
25 |
47 |
1.5 |
18 |
Flooding |
24 |
22 |
46 |
1.5 |
19 |
Collision with wharf |
26 |
18 |
44 |
1.4 |
20 |
Crushing or pinching |
11 |
16 |
27 |
0.9 |
21 |
Loss or presumed loss of a vessel |
5 |
9 |
14 |
0.5 |
22 |
Grounding intentional |
5 |
8 |
13 |
0.4 |
23 |
Skiing incident |
6 |
6 |
12 |
0.4 |
24 |
Collision with overhead obstruction |
5 |
4 |
9 |
0.3 |
25 |
Explosion |
6 |
2 |
8 |
0.3 |
26 |
Diving incident |
7 |
1 |
8 |
0.3 |
27 |
Collision with an animal |
2 |
3 |
5 |
0.2 |
28 |
Loss of stability |
1 |
4 |
5 |
0.2 |
29 |
Parasailing incident |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0.0 |
|
Total |
1500 |
1577 |
3077 |
100.0 |
What is evident from the above table is that collisions figure prominently in incidents, making up 34% of all incident types. While these types of incidents rarely result in serious consequences, their prevalence is a cause for concern. Policy aimed at reducing collisions, particularly collisions between vessels, will reduce the overall number of incidents.
Unintentional groundings make up the second largest incident type, with 15% of all incidents falling into this category. An unintentional grounding involves a vessel coming into contact with the bottom of a waterway so that the vessel ceases to be completely waterborne. It does not include cases where a vessel makes contact with a beach. The prevalence of these incidents suggests that there may be issues with water depth and safe navigatable waters.
Another area of interest from the above table relates to incidents where occupants are likely to end up in the water. Persons overboard, capsizings, sinkings, swampings and floodings together make up 23% all incidents. Incidents such as these, where occupants can be forced into the water, are particularly dangerous as they can lead to death through drowning or hyperthermia. Vessel stability, weather factors and safety equipment are likely areas which could be focused on to reduce these incidents and/or mitigate their potential serious consequences.
