A study commissioned by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) shows that the number of serious ship incidents is declining even as overall capacity grows.
The study, conducted by British maritime consultant G.P. Wild, found that worldwide cruise ship capacity grew by 18 percent from 2009 to 2013 but the number of operational incidents declined by about 13 percent.
"The report shows that even with the Concordia incident that the industry track record for safety over a five-year period is really excellent comparable to any other transport industry," said Peter Wild, managing director of G.P. Wild. "It's a lot safer than going on a U.S. domestic train or a U.S. domestic road. And it's at least as good as the airline industry."
The study examined operational incidents such as fires, technical breakdowns such as engine failure, stranding or grounding, overboard passengers, storm and rogue wave damage, collision/allusion, and sinking.
It found 102 operational incidents over from 2009 to 2013 for an average of 20 per year. During that five-year period, there were 50 deaths - 31 passengers and 19 crew members.
Among six transport modes analyzed - including rail and automobile - cruise ships had the lowest fatality rates, with 0.08 fatalities from operational incidents per billion passenger miles.
The number of people who went overboard cruise ships declined from 23 in 2009 to 12 in 2013. Of the 96 man overboards that occurred during the five-year period, 20 were successfully rescued. "I think that's quite miraculous considering how difficult it is to rescue someone at sea," Wild said.
"Cruise ship safety and reliability have never been better," said Christine Duffy, CLIA president and CEO. "CLIA and our member cruise lines never stop reviewing operational protocols and procedures to improve safety and technology. The well-being of passengers and crew always comes first, and this study clearly shows that cruise lines' continuous efforts to improve are succeeding."
The study utilized 36 publically available sources, including government data, trade publications and media reports. Every incident was identified and validated across two sources.
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