Marine accidents decline in North Sea Canal region

The Port of Amsterdam has said that the total number of maritime accidents in the North Sea Canal region dropped to 32 in 2017, from 44 reported in 2016.

About 7,000 seagoing vessels arrived in the ports of the North Sea Canal Area last year, including nearly 4,700 in the Port of Amsterdam, while around 40,000 barges called at the port region during the year.

“While the number of ship calls has remained level, the number of maritime accidents has fallen in recent years”, said Marleen van de Kerkhof, Amsterdam Harbour Master.

The decline was attributed to improved preventive measures implemented by the port. Of the 120 maritime accidents in total in the past three years, the majority were collisions with objects, mostly near lock complexes.