Cruise Ship Incidents on the Decline

In the past five years, the rate of cruise ship incidents have been on the decline. Operational incidents such as fires, collisions, breakdowns and groundings are becoming less common even as the capacity of cruise ships continues to go up.

In 2012, more than 20 million people went on a cruise around the globe and that year there were only 13 fatalities and 5 rescues with man overboard incidents. These numbers were down from the previously reported numbers in 2011 of 19 fatalities on cruises from man overboard incidents. Some of these overboard incidents were caused by accident or occurred on purpose.

According to a research report released by firm G.P. Wild, every year there is an average of 10 people who die during a cruise and about 60 are injured on a cruise as a result of operational incidents. Operational incidents continue to be prevented thanks to the continuous development of technology and safety precautions.

Technology improvements have been redefining the cruise experience for years and innovations make each trip more safe and more fun. Boarding documents are now able to be filled out online and ahead of time. Check in times are becoming shorter thanks to more efficient processes. Other technological advancements include paperless voyages, getting rid of the need to carry around room keys, and paper itineraries.

Thanks to mobile apps passengers are better able to navigate the ship and plan out their time effectively with the activities and entertainment that they want to do.  Some cruise lines have a wristband that allows a passengers tap access to enter their cabin and make onboard purchases.

As incidents continue to decline, passengers can find peace of mind when choosing a cruise as their next vacation. The continuous improvements that cruise lines are making, with the assistance of more industry guidelines and rules, lower the risk of a cruise ship incident occurring.