Inmarsat Maritime has published its 2025 edition of the Future of Maritime Safety Report, revealing that distress calls at sea remain high,underlining the vital role of human factors in safe shipping.
From missile strikes in the Red Sea to typhoons in the Pacific and cyberattacks on port infrastructure and the increasing presence of the shadow fleet, 2024 was a year of compounding threats to maritime operations, Inmarsat highlights.
According to the report, the number of Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) distress calls registered on the Inmarsat Maritime network increased from 788 in 2023 to 801 in 2024, broadly in line with the 2018-2023 annual average of around 800 calls.
Key takeaways:
- Fewer total losses mask the shipping safety picture: GMDSS distress signals remain consistently high at around 800 per year (over a seven-year average).
- The detail of distress data has increased steadily each year. An increased focus on specifying the ‘nature’ of distress may help optimise the deployment of search and rescue resources and supplement other safety reporting mechanisms.
- Efforts to analyse shipping safety data and extrapolate working hypotheses continue to be complicated by a lack of sharing mechanisms and a standard list of data points.
- Pooling anonymised safety data, such as ship casualties and incidents, crew deaths, injuries and near misses, can simplify trend analysis and drive the development of prioritised risk treatments for both recurring and emerging issues.
- Crew welfare concerns must continue to be addressed to safeguard seafarer rights.
- Effective crew training programmes are essential for building the competencies necessary to operate increasingly complex vessels and safely handle alternative fuels and emissions reduction technologies.
- Industry should implement a human factors approach to optimise the interaction between seafarers and the operational aspects of onboard data, by streamlining data presentation, minimising duplication and eliminating contradictory outputs. The aim should be to empower crews, not overwhelm them.
- Notwithstanding the development of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) regulations, the interdependency of the human element, ship design and technology must remain at the forefront of regulators’ and shipowners’ minds.
The report points to a turbulent year for international shipping, with geopolitical instability, conflict, severe weather events, piracy, and cyber-attacks all adding pressure on operators and crews. Alongside these risks, seafarers are facing welfare challenges linked to the pace and volume of new technologies.
While digitalisation and decarbonisation are essential for the industry’s future, the rapid implementation of new systems and reporting requirements has created an information ‘overload challenge’ for seafarers, highlighting the need for new technologies to support, rather than strain, crew welfare.
Credit: Inmarsat
Vessels with most distress calls in 2024 Tankers
- bulk carriers, and dry cargo vessels accounted for 56.9% of all distress calls.
- 16-year-old vessels sent the most distress signals, followed closely by new vessels—highlighting risks at both ends of the lifecycle.
- July 2024 saw the highest number of calls, coinciding with Typhoon Gaemi and Red Sea security incidents.
Tankers continue to be a key component of the global economy, yet transporting crude oil, refined oil products, chemicals and liquefied gas by tankers and transferring cargo to and from terminals is inherently associated with risk.
Therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that for the seventh successive year, tankers were responsible for more distress calls in 2024 than any other vessel type. Over the year, tankers registered 194 GMDSS distress calls (at a rate of 65 calls per 10,000 vessels), compared with 159 calls in 2023 (a 22% increase).
" Accurate data holds immense potential to transform shipping safety – from predictive maintenance to casualty and near-miss reporting and human-factor analysis. But data must empower crews, not overwhelm them. We need smarter systems to capture, evaluate, and utilise data more effectively without placing an extra burden on already overworked seafarers. "…said Peter Broadhurst, Senior Vice President, Safety and Regulatory, Inmarsat Maritime.
Source : Safety4sea
