Marine transportation occurrences in 2023

Executive summary

The TSB received 1027 reports of marine transportation occurrences in 2023 (235 accidents and 792 incidents), including 18 fatalities.

The total of 235 marine transportation accidents represents a decrease from the 244 accidents in 2022 and is lower than the 10-year average of 274. In 2023, 84% of accidents were shipping accidents (when a ship, for example, sinks, founders, or capsizes). The remaining 16% of accidents in 2023 were accidents aboard ship (when a person is killed or seriously injured when, for example, boarding a ship or by falling overboard).

The 18 marine transportation fatalities are more than the 2022 total of 7 and the 10-year average of 14. Of the 18 fatalities, 10 involved shipping accidents. Over the previous 10 years, fatalities have been evenly divided between shipping accidents and accidents aboard ship.

As in previous years, a high proportion of the fatalities (11 of the 18) was related to commercial fishing (Canadian-flag vessels in Canadian waters). These fatalities underline why commercial fishing safety remains on the TSB’s Watchlist.

The 2023 accident rate was 3.1 accidents per million commercial vessel-kilometres, lower than the 2013 to 2022 average of 4.0.

Marine transportation occurrences in 2023

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) gathers and uses transportation occurrence data during the course of its investigations to analyze safety deficiencies and identify risks in the Canadian marine transportation system.

It should be noted that certain characteristics of the data constrain statistical analysis and identification of emerging trends. These include the small totals of accidents and incidents, the large variability in the data from year to year, and changes to regulations and definitions. The reader is cautioned to keep these limitations in mind when viewing this summary to avoid drawing conclusions that cannot be supported by statistical analysis.

The 2023 data were collected according to the reporting requirements described in the Transportation Safety Board Regulations in force during that calendar year.

The statistics presented here reflect the TSB Marine Safety Information System (MARSIS) database as of 15 February 2024. Since the occurrence data are constantly being updated in the live database, the statistics may change slightly over time.

Also, as many occurrences are limited to data gathering, information recorded on some occurrences may not have been verified.

The following discussion refers to data tables contained in this document.

Accidents

Overview of accidents and casualties

In 2023, 235 marine accidents^{Footnote 1} were reported to the TSB, below the 2022 total of 244 and below the 10-year (2013 to 2022) average of 274 (Figure 1). In 2023 the proportion of shipping accidents (as opposed to accidents aboard ship) was 84% of all marine accidents, slightly higher than the previous 10-year average of 82%.

There were 197 shipping accidents in 2023, slightly below the 2022 total of 200 and 12% down from the 2013 to 2022 average of 225. Fishing vessels were involved in 28% of all shipping accidents, which is the highest proportion among vessel types, followed by solid cargo vessels, which were involved in 27% of shipping accidents (data not shown).

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In 2023, there were 38 accidents aboard ship, compared to 44 in 2022 and also down from the 2013 to 2022 average of 49. Fishing vessels were involved in 29% of all accidents aboard ship, which is the highest proportion among vessel types, followed by vessels carrying solid cargo, which were involved in 24% of accidents aboard ship (data not shown).

Casualties (tables 1, 6, and 7)

In 2023, 18 marine fatalities were reported, up from the 7 fatalities reported in 2022, and above the annual average of 14 in the 2013 to 2022 time period. Of the 18 fatalities in 2023, 10 were the result of 6 shipping accidents, while the remaining 8 fatalities resulted from 3 accidents aboard ship.

Of note, 8 shipping accident fatalities in 2023 involved commercial fishing vessels, and 3 of the fatalities that ensued from accidents aboard ship occurred aboard commercial fishing vessels. These data indicate that more still needs to be done to improve safety in the commercial fishing industry.

Thirty-nine people were seriously injured in 2023, slightly down from 41 in 2022 and below the annual average of 48 from 2013 to 2022. Thirty-three of the 39 serious injuries (85%) resulted from accidents aboard ship, and 6 resulted from shipping accidents (Figure 2).

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Shipping accidents

Type of accident (Table 1)

As illustrated in Figure 3, the most frequent types of shipping accidents in 2023 were collision (36% of all accident types reported), grounding (23%) and fire/explosion (16%). The total number of collisions (70) was 9% less than the 10-year (2013 to 2022) average of 77, the number of groundings (46) was 15% below the 10-year average of 54, and the number of fire/explosion accidents (31) was 12% below the 10-year average of 35.

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Type of vessel (Table 1)

Fifty-five fishing vessels were involved in shipping accidents in 2023, down from 61 in 2022 and below the 2013 to 2022 average of 77 (Figure 4). Fishing vessels represented 24% of all vessels involved in shipping accidents.

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Geographical region (Table 2)

In 2023, 39% of shipping accidents occurred in the Pacific region, 34% in the Central region, and 24% in the Atlantic region. Less than 3% of shipping accidents were in foreign waters.^{Footnote 2} In the Pacific region in 2023, the number of shipping accidents dropped 20% below the 2013 to 2022 average of 97, and in the Atlantic region 15% below the 2013 to 2022 average of 56, while in the Central region shipping accidents were 5% above the 2013 to 2022 average of 64 (Figure 5).

In 2023, fishing vessels were more often involved in shipping accidents in the Atlantic region (25 fishing vessels, down from the 2013 to 2022 average of 40), and in the the Pacific region (22 fishing vessels, below the 2013 to 2022 average of 30). In the Central region, most of the vessels involved in shipping accidents were of cargo/tanker vessel type (41 cargo/tankers, above the 2013 to 2022 average of 35) (Table 2).

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Vessel flag (tables 1, 3, and 4)

In 2023, 79% of the 227 vessels involved in shipping accidents reported to the TSB were Canadian-flag vessels. Of these Canadian-flag vessels, 44% were commercial non-fishing vessels and 34% were fishing vessels; the remaining 22% were non-commercial vessels, pleasure craft, or service vessels.

Accident rates

Canadian-flag commercial non-fishing vessels were most often involved in collisions (58%), groundings (13%), or fire/explosions (12%) (Table 3). According to information provided by Transport Canada,^{Footnote 3} marine activity for Canadian commercial non-fishing vessels over 15 gross tons (GT) (excluding passenger vessels and cruise ships) was 14.301 million commercial vessel-km in 2023, which is 12% above the 2013 to 2022 average.^{Footnote 4} This yields a rate of 3.1 shipping accidents per million commercial vessel-km in 2023, lower than the prior 10-year average of 4.0.

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For Canadian-flag fishing vessels, the most frequently reported shipping accident types in 2023 were grounding (40%) and fire/explosion (25%) (Table 3). According to information provided by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), there were 12 662 active fishing vessels in Canada in 2023.^{Footnote 5},^{Footnote 6} The shipping accident rate for Canadian-flag fishing vessels (Figure 7) was 4.3 shipping accidents per 1000 active fishing vessels in 2023, above the 2022 rate of 4.2, but below the 2013 to 2022 average of 5.4.

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In 2023, 47 foreign-flag vessels were involved in shipping accidents in Canadian waters, 44 of which were commercial non-fishing vessels (Table 4). According to information provided by Transport Canada,^{Footnote 7} marine activity for foreign commercial non-fishing vessels over 15 GT was 21.604 million commercial vessel-km in 2023, above the 2013 to 2022 average of 18.846 million commercial vessel-km. This yields an accident rate of 2.0 shipping accidents involving commercial foreign-flag vessels over 15 GT per million commercial vessel-km, above the 2013 to 2022 average of 1.7.

Vessels lost (tables 1 and 5)

In 2023, 13 vessels were reported lost, unchanged from 2022 but below the 2013 to 2022 average of 16. Five of the 13 vessels lost in 2023 were fishing vessels. Three of the 13 vessels lost were less than 15 GT and for 6 vessels the tonnage was not known (but likely under 15 GT). In the past 11 years (2013 to 2023), fishing vessels under 60 GT have accounted for 58% of Canadian vessels lost (tables 1 and 5, some ata not shown).

Incidents

Overview of incidents

In 2023, 792 marine incidents were reported to the TSB, down from the total of 968 in 2022 and below the annual 10-year (2013 to 2022) average of 845.^{Footnote 8} Incidents in the Atlantic region (305) represented 39% of all marine incidents, followed by 31% (244) in the Central region, and 29% (227) in the Pacific region. The remaining 2% (16) of reported incidents occurred in foreign waters (Table 2).

The majority (80%) of reportable incidents involved the total failure of any machinery or technical system (Figure 8).^{Footnote 9} The largest proportion of these incidents (43%) occurred in the Atlantic region, while the greatest proportion of incidents involving risk of collision (70%) occurred in the Central region (data not shown). The types of vessel most often involved in total failure of any machinery or technical systems incidents in 2023 were fishing vessels (55%) and solid cargo vessels (22%) (data not shown).

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* Due to rounding of percentages in category labels, additions across incident types should be calculated from Table 1 data rather than by adding percentages shown in Figure 8.

Data tables

Definitions

The following definitions apply to marine transportation occurrences that are required to be reported pursuant to the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act and the Transportation Safety Board Regulations.

Marine occurrence

• any accident or incident associated with the operation of a ship
• any situation or condition that the Board has reasonable grounds to believe could, if left unattended, induce an accident or incident described above.

Marine accident

An accident resulting directly from the operation of a ship other than a pleasure craft, where

Accident aboard ship

• a person is killed or sustains a serious injury as a result of
  • boarding, being on board or falling overboard from the ship, or
  • coming into direct contact with any part of the ship or its contents;

Shipping accident

• the ship
  • sinks, founders or capsizes,
  • is involved in a collision (includes strikings and contacts),
  • sustains a fire or an explosion,
  • goes aground, or
  • sustains damage that affects its seaworthiness or renders it unfit for its purpose,
  • is missing or abandoned;

Marine incident

• a person falls overboard from the ship, or
• the ship
  • makes unforeseen contact with the bottom without going aground,
  • fouls a utility cable or pipe, or an underwater pipeline,
  • is involved in a risk of a collision,
  • sustains a total failure of
    • the navigation equipment if the failure poses a threat to the safety of any person, property or the environment,
    • the main or auxiliary machinery, or
    • the propulsion, steering, or deck machinery if the failure poses a threat to the safety of any person, property or the environment;
• all or part of the ship’s cargo shifts or falls overboard, or
  • is anchored, grounded or beached to avoid an occurrence,
• a crew member whose duties are directly related to the safe operation of the ship is unable to perform their duties as a result of a physical incapacitation which poses a threat to the safety of persons, property or the environment;
• there is an accidental release on board or from the ship consisting of a quantity of dangerous goods or an emission of radiation that is greater than the quantity or emission levels specified in Part 8 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations.

Serious injury

1. a fracture of any bone, except simple fractures of fingers, toes or the nose;
2. lacerations that cause severe hemorrhage or nerve, muscle or tendon damage;
3. an injury to an internal organ;
4. second or third degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5% of the body surface;
5. a verified exposure to infectious substances or injurious radiation; or
6. an injury that is likely to require hospitalization.

Vessels covered

This report covers commercial vessels that include all vessels either registered or licensed to operate commercially. Pleasure craft occurrences are not normally included unless they also involved a commercial vessel.

Vessel categories

• Commercial Vessels: include cargo vessels, ferries, passenger vessels, tugs and barges
• Fishing Vessels: include vessels involved in commercial fishing
• Other Vessels: include research vessels, oil exploration, exploitation and support vessels, government vessels and pleasure craft

Miscellaneous

Gross tons (GT)

A measure of vessel capacity in cubic feet of the spaces within the hull, and of enclosed spaces above deck available for cargo, stores, fuel, passengers and crew, with certain exclusions. One hundred cubic feet is equivalent to one gross ton.

Movement

A vessel’s travel segment between ports or a length of 1 km or more within a port or harbor, with at least one port being a domestic port.

TSB regional offices’ areas of responsibility

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Pacific Region’s area of responsibility consists of the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories south of the 70th parallel, as well as the waters adjacent to these provinces and territories.

Central Region’s area of responsibility consists of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec (including the Magdalen Islands), the territory of Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories north of the 70th parallel, as well as James Bay, Hudson Bay, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Great Lakes waterways up to the Canada–U.S. border.

Atlantic Region’s area of responsibility consists of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the waters adjacent to these provinces.