THE seafarer death rate has called to be halved over the next two years, by International Maritime Organisation (IMO) leader Koji Sekimizu. The call has been backed by Nautilus International, who have said 'fundamental changes' must be made to the safety culture in the shipping industry.
An average of over a thousand lives are lost at sea per year, and it's an important figure for our industry to address, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. The figures – though by no means official due to having collated them via various sources – highlight that approximately 100 lives are lost in the fishing sector, 400 in domestic operations, and around 500 in other categories, including international shipping.
IMO have stated that the target of halving the current statistic can be helped by improving fishing vessel safety, an initiative for an 'Accident Zero' campaign implemented by IMO, and official systems for collating more accurate figures of lives lost.
To find out more, go to http://www.imo.org/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/03-new-year-targets.aspx
