Germany Maritime and Inland Waterway Accident Trends 2026

A German sea rescue boat of the DGzRS — File photo: the DGzRS rescue boat Harro Koebke, 2012. Photo: Tvabutzku1234 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Fewer casualties, more injuriesUpdated 6 October 2026

Trend summary

Serious accidents at sea involving German waters or German-flagged ships are edging down, and deaths in commercial shipping are now rare, but injuries on board rose in 2025 and drowning in open water remains the far larger toll.
The federal maritime accident investigator (BSU) counted 122 marine casualties in 2025, down from 131 in 2024, and one death in commercial shipping, against six in 2023, the year the VERITY sank in the German Bight.
The federal waterways agency recorded 969 accidents on federal waterways in 2024 (784 inland, 185 at sea), with the Rhine the single busiest accident spot; these figures are still provisional.
The lifesaving society DLRG counted 393 drowning deaths in German waters in 2025, 22 of them at sea; by mid-September 2026, 24 people had died in accidents involving boats, kayaks or paddleboards.

122marine casualties under the IMO Code, BSU, 2025 (131 in 2024)

1death or missing person in commercial shipping, BSU, 2025 (6 in 2023)

969accidents on federal waterways, Germany, 2024 (provisional)

393drowning deaths in German waters, all causes, DLRG, 2025

What the numbers show

The main national record for sea accidents is the annual report of the Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU), which covers every marine casualty in German territorial waters and every one involving a German-flagged seagoing ship anywhere in the world. Its Annual Report 2025 logged 599 notifications, down from 625 in 2024, and 122 marine casualties under the international IMO Code, down from 131. Of these, 94 were less serious, 26 serious and two very serious: the sinking of the former pilot boat SEA DAGGER west of Sylt and a fatal mooring accident on the tanker SEATROUT. One seafarer died in commercial shipping in 2025, compared with two in 2024 and six in 2023, but 43 people were injured, the highest figure since 2017. Three people died in recreational boating, the same as in each of the two previous years. Collisions rose from 19 to 29 and allisions (a ship striking a fixed object such as a bridge or quay) from 22 to 28.

Inland waterways are counted separately, and only recently. In 2020 the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) noted that German official statistics had no data on ship accidents on inland waterways. Since July 2023 the water police of the federal states (Länder) record accidents in a federal database called HAVARIS. The Traffic Report 2024 of the Federal Waterways and Shipping Agency (GDWS) counts 969 accidents on federal waterways in 2024: 784 inland and 185 at sea, as of 30 July 2025 and still subject to change. Of the 767 cases already closed, 217 were on the Rhine, Germany’s busiest waterway, followed by the Elbe (97) and the Lower Havel waterway (89), where most accidents involved leisure craft. Navigation errors were the main cause in 449 cases. Far more people die in the water than on ships: the DLRG (German Life Saving Association) counted at least 393 drowning deaths in 2025, 18 fewer than in 2024, with 88% in inland waters such as lakes and rivers and 22 at sea (2024: 30).

What is driving it

The BSU points to unchanged heavy traffic and increasingly limited sea room in German waters. The worst recent accident shows the stakes: on 24 October 2023 the British cargo ship VERITY sank after colliding with the bulk carrier POLESIE in the traffic separation scheme south-west of Helgoland, with five seafarers dead or missing (Havariekommando). The UK investigator MAIB led the investigation and published its report in February 2026; the BSU added a supplementary statement in August 2026. Fires on car carriers are a second concern. In July 2023 the FREMANTLE HIGHWAY, carrying 2,875 cars from Bremerhaven to Port Said, burned off the Dutch island of Ameland while Germany’s joint maritime emergency command, the Havariekommando, prepared for pollution reaching German waters (Havariekommando). In January 2026 another car carrier, the THAMES HIGHWAY, caught fire in its engine room shortly after leaving Emden (Havariekommando).

Most injuries on commercial ships come from work on board: the BSU attributes about half of accidents with injuries in 2025 (15 of 31) to poor occupational safety. On the water as a whole, weather drives the numbers. The DLRG says June 2026 was the deadliest month for drowning since 2003, with at least 101 deaths, and its provisional count stood at 320 deaths by 15 September 2026, slightly below the 328 of the same period in 2025 (DLRG). The volunteer sea rescue service DGzRS carried out about 1,720 operations in 2025 and rescued 135 people from acute danger (Radio Bremen, reporting DGzRS figures).

Recent cases

30 September 2026: two fishermen are unhurt after their wooden shrimp cutter takes on heavy water in the Wadden Sea off the Eiderstedt peninsula; two DGzRS rescue cruisers are sent to help (DGzRS).
26 September 2026: a fire breaks out on the bridge console of the excursion ship SEEADLER in the harbour of the Baltic island of Greifswalder Oie; a crew member puts it out and rescue boats bring firefighters from the mainland (DGzRS).
24 September 2026: the BSU publishes its interim report on the sinking of the former pilot boat SEA DAGGER about 70 km west of Sylt on 25 September 2025; the two crew were picked up unhurt by a nearby ship (BSU).

Press releases and official reports, 2023–2026

Five key releases a year for the last four years, newest first. Most come from German federal and state government agencies, regulators, accident investigators and national statistics; a few news reports are included where they are the clearest public record of an event. Many official releases are published only in German; for those we give an English translation of the title and mark the link (in German). Releases from 2007–2022 are in the expandable list after 2023.

View 20 years of major German maritime accident press releases (2007–2026)80 more from 2007–2022, up to five a year, newest first

2022

28 Dec 2022HavariekommandoOil pollution on the Kiel Canal: Havariekommando hands over overall command (in German)
20 Dec 2022BSUFoundering of the fishing vessel RAMONA in the mouth of the River Elbe on 21 September 2021 (Investigation Report 301/21)
30 Nov 2022BSUFire in the engine room on board the ferry BERLIN in the access to the port of Rostock on 13 August 2020 (Investigation Report 261/20)
7 Jul 2022BSUAnnual Report 2021 on accidents and serious incidents at sea
2 Apr 2022HavariekommandoCargo fire on a freighter in the Verbindungshafen, Bremerhaven (in German)

2021

23 Oct 2021HavariekommandoCollision of a cargo ship and a tanker on the Elbe (in German)
27 Jul 2021BSUFire in the engine room of the multi-purpose carrier KELLY with one dead and two injured crew members on the River Elbe on 6 September 2019 (Investigation Report)
8 Jul 2021BSUAnnual Report 2020 on accidents and serious incidents at sea
1 Jul 2021BSUCatamaran SEEWIND I pitches into a wave in the North Sea, causing injuries, on 3 July 2020 (Investigation Report 74/20)
1 Feb 2021BSUFatal person-overboard accident involving a crew member of the fishing vessel HELEN MARY in the North Atlantic on 30 January 2020 (Investigation Report 20/20)

2020

9 Dec 2020BSUDeflagration on the Danish sail training ship DANMARK off Fehmarn on 30 June 2020 (Summary Investigation Report 182/20)
20 Aug 2020BSUFire in the engine room of the multipurpose ship KELLY with one dead and two injured on the Elbe on 6 September 2019 (Interim Investigation Report)
7 Jul 2020BSUAnnual Report 2019 on accidents and serious incidents at sea
25 Jun 2020BSUJoint BSU, Dutch Safety Board and Panama Maritime Authority report on the container losses from MSC ZOE
26 Feb 2020HavariekommandoShips with rudder damage in the North Sea (in German)

2019

12 Dec 2019BSULoss of containers from MSC ZOE in the Terschelling – German Bight traffic separation scheme on 1 and 2 January 2019 (Interim Investigation Report 3/19)
6 Sep 2019HavariekommandoCargo ship in distress on the Elbe (in German)
1 Jul 2019BSUAnnual Report 2018 published
21 Jun 2019BSUCapsize of the survey boat GEO PROFILER in the Wadden Sea off Büsum on 17 July 2018 (Investigation Report 258/18)
21 Jan 2019HavariekommandoTanker runs aground in the Elbe (in German)

2018

16 Nov 2018HavariekommandoShip collision in the North Sea off Borkum (in German)
29 Oct 2018BSUGrounding of the bulk carrier GLORY AMSTERDAM about 1.6 nm north of Langeoog on 29 October 2017 (Interim Investigation Report 408/17)
22 Aug 2018HavariekommandoOil pollution in the North Sea (in German)
8 Jun 2018BSUAnnual Report 2017 published
28 May 2018BSUCharcoal cargo fires on the container vessels MSC KATRINA in the Elbe estuary and LUDWIGSHAFEN EXPRESS in the Red Sea (Investigation Report)

2017

7 Nov 2017BSUAnnual Report 2016 published
2 Nov 2017HavariekommandoBulk carrier GLORY AMSTERDAM drifting in the German Bight (in German)
14 Jul 2017BSUCollision on the Lower Elbe between EENDRACHT and TRANSCAPRICORN on 26 November 2015 (Investigation Report 459/15)
14 Jul 2017HavariekommandoFreighter loses timber cargo in the Kiel Fjord (in German)
10 May 2017BSUCollision between the EMSMOON and the Friesenbrücke railway bridge at Weener on the Ems on 3 December 2015 (Investigation Report 470/15)

2016

24 Nov 2016BSUCollision on the Lower Elbe between EENDRACHT and TRANSCAPRICORN on 26 November 2015
14 Oct 2016BSUGrounding of the CSCL INDIAN OCEAN in the River Elbe on 3 February 2016 (Investigation Report 34/16)
13 Oct 2016BSUCollision of the ferry FRISIA V with the quay in Norddeich on 16 June 2015 (Interim Investigation Report 225/15)
5 Oct 2016BSUFatal accident on board the charter yacht DESDEMONA in the approach to Rostock-Warnemünde on 21 September 2015
29 Sep 2016BSUAnnual Report 2015 published

2015

2014

4 Aug 2014BSUAnnual Report 2013
20 May 2014HavariekommandoEngine room fire north of Helgoland (in German)
6 May 2014HavariekommandoSunken fishing cutter WATTENMEER (in German)
29 Apr 2014BSUGrounding of the passenger ship DEUTSCHLAND near the Italia Glacier, Chile, on 15 January 2012 (Investigation Report 19/12)
28 Feb 2014BSUFire and explosion on board the MSC FLAMINIA in the Atlantic on 14 July 2012 and the ensuing events (Investigation Report 255/12)

2013

7 Nov 2013HavariekommandoCollision on the Kiel Canal (in German)
8 May 2013HavariekommandoCollision on the Outer Weser (in German)
27 Feb 2013HavariekommandoTen years of the Havariekommando: a review (in German)
6 Feb 2013BSUAccident with four casualties on board the traditional ship SEUTE DEERN east of Christiansø, Bornholm, on 28 July 2011 (Investigation Report 301/11)
2 Feb 2013HavariekommandoCollision north of Rügen (in German)

2012

8 Nov 2012HavariekommandoMSC FLAMINIA casualty (in German)
1 Nov 2012BSUFire on a semi-trailer on board the ferry MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN on the Warnow on 19 November 2010 (Investigation Report 515/10)
16 Jul 2012BSUDeath of a crew member of the sailing yacht SPECIAL ONE off Fehmarn on 30 April 2011 (Investigation Report 143/11)
4 May 2012HavariekommandoCollision in the port of Travemünde (in German)
1 Feb 2012BSUFire on the ro-ro passenger vessel LISCO GLORIA north-west of Fehmarn on 8 October 2010 (Investigation Report 445/10)

2011

15 Dec 2011BSUCollision in the Kiel-Holtenau siding of the Kiel Canal between NATIONAL GLORY and MALAGA on 28 November 2010 (Investigation Report 523/10)
23 Nov 2011HavariekommandoCollision of two freighters on the Weser (in German)
20 Oct 2011HavariekommandoBurning ferry in the North Sea (in German)
7 Oct 2011BSUAnnual Report 2010
18 Apr 2011HavariekommandoSerious collision on the Kiel Canal (in German)

2010

1 Oct 2010HavariekommandoLeaking inland vessel on the Elbe (in German)
3 Jun 2010BSUAnnual Report 2009
14 May 2010BSUCollision between the motor vessel CHRISTA and the pleasure craft ODIN off Timmendorf/Poel on 28 February 2009 (Investigation Report 56/09)
15 Apr 2010BSUCapsizing of the motor boat QUINTETT with two fatalities on the Lower Elbe on 21 May 2009 (Investigation Report 161/09)
15 Feb 2010BSUCapsize of the sailing yacht TAUBE with six fatalities off the Atlantic coast of Morocco on 20 January 2009 (Investigation Report 015/09)

2009

1 Dec 2009BSUAccident with loss of life on board the fishing vessel TANJA in the port of Burgstaaken, Fehmarn, on 6 February 2009 (Investigation Report 31/09)
26 Sep 2009HavariekommandoBulk carrier runs aground (in German)
17 Aug 2009BSUCollision of the ro-pax ferry FINNLADY with the Skandinavienkai in Travemünde on 16 May 2008 (Investigation Report 211/08)
3 Aug 2009BSUDanger from suction and waves on the Lower Elbe at Wittenbergen on 14 September 2008 (Investigation Report 491/08)
1 Jul 2009BSUAnnual Report 2008

2008

1 Sep 2008BSUAnnual Report 2007
1 Sep 2008BSUFoundering of the fishing vessel HOHEWEG in the Alte Weser area on 8 November 2006 (Investigation Report 564/06)
15 Jun 2008BSUDeath of two crew members after the lifeboat of the FOREST-1 fell during a drill in Emden (Investigation Report 215/07)
13 Mar 2008HavariekommandoHavariekommando takes over overall command (NAVKIOS) (in German)
8 Mar 2008HavariekommandoCargo fire on the PATRICIA S in Brunsbüttel (in German)

2007

17 Dec 2007BSUAnnual Report 2006
3 Dec 2007BSUVery serious marine casualty: death of two crew members after the crash of a lifeboat of the tanker OLIVER JACOB during a drill (Investigation Report 21/06)
6 Nov 2007HavariekommandoBanana freighter DUNCAN ISLAND safely alongside in Cuxhaven (in German)
1 Aug 2007BSUCapsizing of the pilot tender ELBE 3 while casting off from the DELTA ST. PETERSBURG north of the Elbe approach on 23 August 2006 (Investigation Report 415/06)
1 Jun 2007BSUFoundering of the motor boat SEEHUND I in the Süderpiep area off Eiderstedt on 9 August 2005 (Investigation Report 306/05)

Photo list

An inland cargo ship on the Rhine — File photo: an inland cargo ship on the Rhine near the Loreley, 2013. Photo: Alf van Beem via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

A DLRG water rescue vehicle — File photo: a DLRG water rescue vehicle in Saarbrücken, 2018. Photo: Alf van Beem via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

How this page is built. Figures come from the official statistical releases linked above; where agencies publish provisional numbers we say so, because they are revised. German statistics are often published separately by each federal state (Land) and some only in German, so we say which area and period each figure covers and translate titles. Photos are public-domain or Creative Commons images credited in each caption; file photos are illustrative and are not from the events described unless the caption says so. This page tracks trends and is not personal safety, medical, legal or financial advice.