IMCA reports lower injury rates but warns fatalities remain a concern

July 26 ------ The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) published its annual Safety Statistics Report, revealing that safety performance indicators improved in 2025.

According to the publication, both lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) and total recordable injury rate (TRIR) declining compared with the previous year. However, the report highlighted that fatalities increased, reinforcing the need for greater focus on serious injury and fatality prevention. Contractor members reported 268 lost-time injuries and 996 total recordable injuries during 2025.

The Fatal Accident Rate (FAR) increased from 0.30 to 0.69. Reported fatal incidents included an electrocution, a fall from height and a mooring incident involving a parted rope, while details of four additional fatalities were not provided.

Injury rates improve, but indicators do not show full picture

The total LTIFR reduced from 0.30 in 2024 to 0.27 in 2025, while the total TRIR decreased from 1.10 to 0.98. While these improvements represent positive progress, IMCA noted that headline injury rates do not provide a complete picture of safety performance.

Fatalities increase as serious incident prevention remains a priority

Seven fatalities were reported in 2025, including four offshore fatalities. Reported fatal incidents involved electrocution, a fall from height, and a mooring incident involving a parted rope. Further information on four additional fatalities reported by two contractors was not provided.

IMCA said the increase in fatalities reinforces the need to look beyond headline injury rates and focus more directly on preventing serious injuries and fatal incidents.

"Every fatality represents a person, a family and a workforce affected by loss. While the continued improvement in injury rates is encouraging and reflects the hard work of our Members, these figures demonstrate that serious harm risks remain present despite improving injury statistics," highlighted Mark Holmes, Safety and Security Manager.

Line of fire remains leading cause of lost time injuries

Line of fire remained the leading cause of lost time injuries (LTIs) in 2025. IMCA highlighted that this broad category requires further analysis to identify the specific work activities where workers are exposed to harmful energy.

These include lifting and rigging, mooring operations, moving equipment, dropped objects, stored energy, suspended loads, and tasks involving hazardous hand or body positioning.

Safety observation reporting declines by 20%

Safety observation reporting declined significantly in 2025, with the safety observation frequency rate (SOFR) falling from 482.1 to 387.1 observations per 200,000 hours worked, representing a reduction of around 20%.

IMCA said the reason for the decline remains unclear and may reflect fewer observations being carried out, changes in reporting systems or definitions, differences among participating companies, or changes in how Members use observation programs.

Continued focus needed on high-consequence risks

The report emphasized that while reductions in LTIFR and TRIR are encouraging, continued progress will depend on understanding the underlying causes of serious incidents and strengthening efforts to prevent fatalities and high-consequence events.

"IMCA will use the 2025 data to support a sharper focus on serious injury and fatality prevention, line-of-fire risk, high-consequence hazards, and the quality of learning across the sector. We will also continue to work with Members to improve participation and strengthen the usefulness of the data itself," said Iain Grainger, CEO

Source: safety4sea.com