Monday 23 March 2026
Between October and December 2025, we received 344 marine incident reports involving domestic commercial vessels.
We recorded 344 marine incidents involving domestic commercial vessels in the final quarter of 2025. Of these, 54 were classified as serious and 3 as very serious, highlighting ongoing safety risks across the sector.
The report details a wide range of occurrences, from mechanical failures and fires to crew injuries and vessel groundings. Here are some of the incidents reported in this period.
- A vessel sustained hull damage while moored on a rock bar and began flooding. The 5 crew evacuated to nearby shore and activated an EPIRB for rescue. (very serious incident)
- Vessel sank following engine failure. All crew were rescued from the life raft without injury (very serious incident)
- Batteries being charged began smoking and caught fire. The operator inhaled smoke while trying to extinguish the fire. Firefighters put out the fire, and the operator was taken to hospital
- A passenger tripped on a raised doorway threshold (door combing) and struck their head on a handrail. Passenger sustained a serious head injury requiring medical evacuation
- A master fell asleep at the helm near a harbour entrance. Vessel made contact with the seabed and returned to its berth with no damage or injuries.