Top 30 Causes Of Sea/Water Accidents You Should Know

The sea is one of the quite popular means of transportation that a lot of people have seemed to adopt. Whether for work purposes or for leisure, sometimes we have to be transported by water.

Of course, there are various vessels that one can make use of for transportation on water, such as canoe, ship, boats and the likes. But, none of them is however completely safe and totally free from accidents. Here are 30 causes of sea/ water accidents you should know about.

Causes Of Sea/Water Accidents

We recently talked about the causes of aircraft accidents and causes of motor/driving accidents, but today, it’s all about the causes of accidents while traveling via water.

1. Collision

Collision with either other ships, cargoes, vessels or some very dangerously large objects like usually causes accidents, which most of the times leads to sinking.

2. Lack of proper maintenance

If the vessel is not well cared for, then it is possible that some damages occur to it which may lead to an accident.

3. Leakage

Inadequate maintenance often leads to leakage. In this way, excess water flows into the vessel and the vessel capsize.

4. Overloading/ Overcrowding

When a vessel (ship, boat or canoe) carries passengers or goods more than it should or more than the required, then marine accidents occur.

5. Fire

A fire outbreak on the deck or some other part can also cause a marine accident.

6. Explosion

An explosion is also known to be one of the top causes of marine accidents, as an explosion from various causes has been known to occur on vessels.

7. Icebergs

Icebergs are known to demolish ships, irrespective of size if struck by a crucial part of the vessel.

8. Reef

Just like icebergs, if struck they can also lead to the end of a ship.

9. Blizzard

A blizzard is a severe snowstorm which can affect the visibility of the captain, misleading him.

10. Lost of direction

When the direction is lost, and the ship wanders into rough waters, an accident is likely to occur.

11. Severe weather conditions

Extremely bad weather conditions are also known to cause sea accidents, leading vessels to their ruin.

12. Cyclone

This is a small scale tornado that affects the movement of a ship. It may cause the captain to lose control or lead the ship into dangerous waters.

13. Rough Seas

Rough seas are as well dangerous zones for vessels, as they may capsize there

14. Loss of control

If for any reason, there is a loss of control of the vessel, accidents occur.

15. Large Rocks

Parts of ships are quite strong but can become weak when they constantly hit objects. Large rocks can also cause severe damage to the ship.

16. Mechanical Failure

A mechanical failure of any type which is not rectified immediately can as well lead to an accident.

17. Large waves

When too frequent, large and heavy, waves tend to cause disturbance to the smooth sailing of ships and sometimes even they overturn the ship.

18. Heavy winds

Heavy wind is another of the severe weather conditions that can cause a sea accident.

19. Storm

A storm is a very strong wind that has a lesser effect to a hurricane.

20. Failure of bow visor door

If this is down, then water gets into the vessel (ship) quite easily and it sinks

21. Hurricane

Hurricanes are stronger than storms and maneuver the ship out of control

22. Sand Bar
23. Typhoon

Typhoons as well are known to cause various sea accidents

24. Fracture of the propeller shaft

The propeller which plays a huge part in the mobility of the ship could become fractured and thereby lead to further major things like damaging the hull

25. Attack

Attacks of any kind on the vessel may lead to accidents

26. Sabotage

When a ship is sabotaged or the verge of been hijacked, accidents can occur.

27. Inexperienced crew

When the crew who are supposed to be in charge of things are not experienced or they lack the required training, an accident is likely to occur.

28. Human error

Mistakes and errors which happens as a result of human faults can likely lead to accidents as well.

29. Chemical Spill

When dangerous chemicals spill, they are also likely to cause accidents.

30. Infrastructure issue

Such issues include problems which arise from the ship itself- problems or faults from the manufacturers.

Many of these causes of accidents which are caused by maintenance or human can be avoided through proper management and proper check as well as ensuring that the crew members are certified before engagement.

As for the weather-related causes, a good step will be to ensure that a correct and adequate weather report is studied before embarking on the journey.