ALLIANZ Safety and Shipping Review 2025
c: Allianz
Allianz Commercial’s annual Safety and Shipping Review identifies loss trends and highlights a number of risk challenges for the maritime sector.
Given that 90% of international trade is transported across oceans, maritime safety is critical, and the shipping industry has made significant improvements in recent years. During the 1990s, the global fleet lost 200+ vessels a year. This total had halved by 10 years ago and is now down to a record low of 27 as of the end of 2024.
This compares with 35 a year earlier (vessels over 100 gross tonnage [GT]), down by around 20%, with a 75% decline in total losses over the past decade (105 in 2015). The South China, Indochina, Indonesia and the Philippines region is the main loss hotspot globally over the past year, together with the British Isles and the East Mediterranean and Black Sea (4 total losses each), and the past decade (169). A huge volume of imports and exports flow through the region, resulting in high levels of shipping traffic, which is reflected in the number of incidents. Overall, the past decade has seen 681 total losses reported across the shipping world.
Fishing vessels accounted for close to 40% of lost vessels during 2024 (10), followed by cargo (6) and chemical/product (3). Foundered (sunk) was the main cause of total loss across all vessel types (12), accounting for close to 50%. Fire/explosion ranked second (7), remaining stable with fishing vessels the main casualties. More than 100 total losses of vessels have been caused by fires in the past decade.
The number of reported shipping casualties or incidents around the world increased by around 10% during 2024 (3,310 compared to 2,963). The British Isles saw the highest number (799), followed by the East Mediterranean and Black Sea (694). The British Isles is also the top location for the most incidents over the past decade (5,613), accounting for 20% of 28,331 reported incidents. Machinery damage/failure accounted for well over half of all shipping incidents globally (1,860) in 2024, followed by vessel collision (251) and fire/explosion. There were 250 fire incidents during 2024, up by 20% year-on-year, the highest total for a decade.
The average age of a vessel involved in a total loss over the past 10 years is 29. Extreme weather was reported as being a factor in at least 7 losses during 2024.
Despite the ongoing trend for fewer large losses, challenges remain. Shipowners are trying to operate vessels safely within an ever-changing and dynamic regulatory framework and do the right thing, but this is becoming more difficult, given they have to manage a host of complex issues from conflicts, sanctions and tariffs, to the risks posed by the shadow fleet, to the emerging challenges that decarbonization brings. The relevance of political risk and conflict as a potential cause of maritime loss is increasing with heightened geopolitical tensions.
Partial and attritional losses remain a major concern and although the industry has made progress on the risks associated with large vessels, this does not mean they are all under control. Fires, collisions and groundings continue to occur due to a lack of mitigation and understanding of risk. Loss prevention and risk mitigation practices and processes must filter down to the grass roots. Ensuring safety will continue to require a significant effort across the industry.