Around 7,000 seagoing vessels arrived in the ports of the North Sea Canal Area over the past year, (including nearly 4,700 in the Port of Amsterdam), while approximately 40,000 barges called at the port region in 2017. The total number of maritime accidents in 2017 was 32, down from 44 in 2016, Port of Amsterdam said in its press release.
Amsterdam Harbour Master Marleen van de Kerkhof presented the maritime figures on Friday, 9 February. Commenting on the news, she said: ‘While the number of ship calls has remained level, the number of maritime accidents has fallen in recent years. The reason for this decline is the preventive measures taken by the Port to increase the safety of, and improve safety awareness among, Port users. These measures include risk-driven surveillance by the inspectors and Port officials of the Harbour Master’s Division. The Port’s involvement in several national taskforces, including the Safe Boating! initiative, has also helped to improve safety on the water.’
120 maritime accidents in 3 years
During this period, 21,106 seagoing vessels and 117,996 barges called at the Port
Most common accident types: collisions with objects, mostly near lock complexes
Technical failures (e.g. outages) are often the cause of vessels running aground or crashing against the wharf
Most collisions occur during manoeuvring and are limited to minor vessel damage
Number of collisions involving ferries on transport axis: 6
The unilateral accidents mainly involve reports of small on-board fires