Qurexa Logo
Qurexa

Trust. Care. Deliver.

Back to Blog & Insights
Travel

1,585 reports, 16 investigations, two fishers lost overboard

Qurexa Editorial Team2 October 20268 min read 0 0
1,585 reports, 16 investigations, two fishers lost overboard

What happened

On 30 September 2026, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch published its Annual Report for 2025. The MAIB is an independent branch within the Department for Transport, based in Southampton. It investigates marine accidents on UK vessels anywhere in the world, and on any vessel in UK waters. The head of the branch, the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, reports directly to the Secretary of State for Transport. During 2025 the MAIB recorded 1,585 reports of marine casualties and incidents, involving 1,737 vessels. Of those reports, 1,506 fell within the scope of the relevant accident reporting regulations, two came under an agreement with the Red Ensign Group, and 77 were outside both. It started 16 new investigations. Seven of those involved loss of life. It published 17 accident investigation reports. For comparison, the report gives the previous five years. There were 1,515 reports in 2024, 1,587 in 2023, 1,252 in 2022, 1,531 in 2021 and 1,223 in 2020. The averages across the period are 1,449 reports a year, 17.8 investigations started and 9.7 of those involving loss of life. The report also records that 90 per cent of the recommendations the MAIB made during 2025 were accepted, an increase of five percentage points on the previous year. There has been a change at the top. The statement at the front of the report is written by Rob Loder, the new Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents. He introduces it on behalf of Captain Andrew Moll OBE, who retired in February 2026 after nearly 50 years of combined public service in the Royal Navy and at the MAIB. The branch's spending for the 2025/26 financial year was £4,229,000 against a budget of £4,505,000.

Why this matters

Most people think of the sea as something they look at on holiday. For a lot of Britain, and for a good part of Lincolnshire's coast, it is also a workplace. The report names the deaths behind the statistics, and that is the part worth reading slowly. In 2025, two fishers lost their lives by falling overboard, one from the vessel Sea Eagle and one from Wilaya. The Chief Inspector notes that this is a statistical improvement on previous years, and then adds that one death is too many, especially because falling overboard is a preventable accident. He also points to fatigue, with two vessels grounded and lost during 2025. The reasoning is blunt and humane at the same time: the drive to keep fishing in a tough economic climate is understandable, long days and night maintenance take their toll, and the risk of falling asleep on watch is always present. On merchant shipping, three accidents are named as illustrations. The collision between Solong and Stena Immaculate in the North Sea in March 2025 is cited as an example of how drifting from established seafaring practice can cost lives, cause pollution and lose a ship. The fatal fall overboard of a bosun from the bulk carrier World Prize in October 2025 is given as an example of a hazard that a basic risk assessment should have mitigated. The third is different, and is a glimpse of the future. In September 2025, an uncrewed surface vessel called X18 collided with a crew transfer vessel, Iceni Legend, in the North Sea. Nobody was hurt. The MAIB treats it as an important investigation because it goes to a new question: how a remotely controlled, slow-moving vessel shares sea space with a fast vessel steered by a person. As the industry moves towards automation and larger autonomous vessels, that question is only going to get bigger.

What the evidence actually says

These figures need reading with some care, and the report itself helps with that. The headline number, 1,585 reports, is not a count of accidents at sea. It is a count of what was reported to the MAIB. The Chief Inspector is direct about the gap: he says the branch is aware there can be a culture of under-reporting of less serious incidents and near misses, and issues what he calls a rallying call to the sector to report unsafe occurrences. That means a rise in the figures is ambiguous. The report notes that reporting of marine casualties and incidents continues to increase year on year, although the growth in the reporting rate has slowed. More reports can mean more accidents, or better reporting, or both. It is a mistake to read the trend as a straightforward safety trend. The year-to-year variation supports that caution. The numbers run from 1,223 in 2020 to 1,587 in 2023 and 1,585 in 2025. The 2020 and 2022 figures are noticeably lower, and 2020 covers a year when a great deal of activity stopped. The report also notes that MAIB reviews its data regularly, and figures for previous years can change as a result. The 90 per cent acceptance rate for recommendations is a genuinely useful indicator. Accepting a recommendation is not the same as acting on it, which is why the report tracks the progress of recommendations from earlier years, going back as far as 2009. But a five percentage point improvement in acceptance suggests the industry is engaging rather than resisting. One change in this year's report is worth knowing if you go looking for numbers. The detailed statistical section has been removed, because the data now sits on the MAIB Data Portal instead, where anyone can filter it, download the datasets or open the full data model. That is more open, not less, but it means the report alone no longer holds the full picture.

Practical advice

If you work at sea, or go out on the water for pleasure, the themes in this report point at some practical things. Prevent the fall, do not just prepare for it. The report makes a point that is easy to miss: a personal flotation device reduces the harm of ending up in the water, but it does not stop you going in, and cold water can still kill someone floating in one. Guard rails, safety tethers, keeping clear of gear under tension and not working alone on deck are what keep you on the vessel. Use the safety folder rather than owning it. The report notes that safety procedures are often written down but not followed, and that equipment described in them, such as tethers, is often simply not on board. A folder is not compliance; the behaviour is. Take fatigue seriously as a hazard, not a personality trait. Manage rest periods. Do not go to sea exhausted. Two vessels were grounded and lost in 2025 with fatigue identified as a factor. Report near misses. This is the one thing almost anyone in the sector can do that costs nothing. The MAIB's position is that data on seemingly inconsequential events informs the bigger picture of risk and can save lives. You do not need an accident to contribute. If you are a leisure boater, paddleboarder or sea angler, the basics remain: tell someone your plan and your expected return, carry a means of calling for help that works when wet, wear a flotation device, and check the weather and tide before you go. In an emergency at sea, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. And if you want the underlying data, the MAIB Data Portal is free to use and covers occurrences from 2020 onwards.

What to know

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch published its Annual Report for 2025 on 30 September 2026. It recorded 1,585 reports of marine casualties and incidents during the year, involving 1,737 vessels, and started 16 new investigations, seven of which involved loss of life. It published 17 investigation reports. Ninety per cent of the recommendations it made in 2025 were accepted, five percentage points more than the year before. Rob Loder is the new Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, following the retirement of Captain Andrew Moll OBE in February 2026. Two fishers died falling overboard in 2025, from the vessels Sea Eagle and Wilaya. Fatigue was linked to two vessels being grounded and lost. The report also highlights watchkeeping and collision regulations on merchant ships, and a collision between an uncrewed vessel and a crewed one as a sign of challenges to come. The report stresses that less serious incidents and near misses are under-reported, so rising figures do not straightforwardly mean rising risk. Detailed statistics now sit on the free MAIB Data Portal rather than in the report. Sources: Marine Accident Investigation Branch, "MAIB Annual Report 2025 published", GOV.UK, 30 September 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/maib-annual-report-2025-published ; MAIB Annual Report 2025, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6abbc106386b60b8c599e9b7/2026-MAIBAnnualReport2025.pdf ; Marine Accident Investigation Branch, https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/marine-accident-investigation-branch This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional, or from a qualified marine safety professional. In an emergency at sea, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

#maritime safety#MAIB#fishing vessels#coast#accident investigation#shipping

Related articles