Enclosed space survey aims to understand why seafarers are still dying

(Posted on 12/03/25)

Ship managers and maritime professionals have joined forces to address concerns over the continuing deaths of seafarers and shore workers in enclosed spaces onboard ships.

InterManager, the international trade association for the ship management sector, has collaborated with The Nautical Institute and IMarEST to gain up to date information on the risks faced by workers in enclosed spaces on ships. Together they have launched an industry-wide survey which aims to collate feedback from those working on ships to delve deeper into what’s going wrong and understand better what solutions are needed.

The detailed online survey, which can be completed anonymously, asks seafarers to identify what aspects of enclosed space entry present risks for them and questions how involved in safety procedures they have been.

InterManager Secretary General, Captain Kuba Szymanski, said: “InterManager carried out a widespread survey in 2018 where we asked seafarers why fatal mistakes were still being made. From more than 5,000 responses we were able to understand more about the problem and since then we have worked tirelessly with industry partners to try to find effective ways of saving more lives.”

He continued: “Since 1998, InterManager has been collating statistics on behalf of the whole shipping industry and sharing them with partners and the International Maritime Organization. Sadly, from this information we can see that workers are still dying in enclosed spaces onboard ships despite numerous industry interventions. Now we’re conducting an even more in-depth survey which will help us to better understand the situation and empower us to work with industry colleagues to address this unacceptable situation.”

The number of enclosed space accidents occurring on an annual basis has not reduced significantly since 1998 when InterManager began compiling statistics.

In both 2022 and 2023 14 enclosed space incidents were recorded. However, there was a marked increase in the number of actual casualties in 2023: there were 34 casualties in 2023 compared to 18 in 2022, an almost doubling of the casualty rate.

Initial figures for 2024 indicate that 11 recorded accidents resulted in the deaths of eight seafarers and six contractors, although incident reporting is notoriously slow. For example, InterManager notes that an accident reported into the IMO accident investigation module in February this year (2025) actually occurred in 2015!

Analysing the statistics it has collated, InterManager advises that the majority of enclosed space accidents involve senior ranks or stevedores, and the highest percentage of incidents occur on bulk carriers (41%) and tankers (23%). The most frequent locations for life-threatening incidents or deaths occur in the hold and hold access area (51%) with cargo oil tanks also presenting a significant risk (18%).

Kuba Szymanski commented: “We’ve been discussing enclosed space safety at the highest levels for many years now and yet, despite the shipping industry producing a wealth of rules, procedures, guidelines, leaflets etc, people are still dying in these confined spaces on ships. Please have your say on what needs to be done.”

InterManager is encouraging maritime colleagues to take part in the survey, including seafarers, HSEQ departments and superintendents, as well as urging its ship and crew manager members to share the survey link with their seafarers. The survey can be viewed here