354 Enclosed Space Accidents Since 1996 Push Industry Toward Practical Safety Reform

InterManager has recorded 354 enclosed space accidents between 1996 and 2026, and a new survey of more than 900 seafarers suggests the toll will continue unless shipowners replace paperwork-heavy compliance with procedures crews can actually execute.

The accidents span every major vessel class: tankers, bulk carriers, containerships, passenger vessels and other ship types. That breadth matters for operators across the freight chain, because it signals a systemic failure rather than a segment-specific problem. Decades of safety campaigns, training mandates and regulatory attention have not closed the gap.

"Enclosed spaces have been killing seafarers for decades," Captain Kuba Szymanski, InterManager's secretary general, said in a statement. "The industry does not need more paperwork for the sake of paperwork, it needs practical measures that work onboard."

Why do established procedures keep failing?

The survey identifies a consistent set of pressures aboard working ships. Crews struggle with overly complicated procedures, insufficient time and manpower, commercial pressure and inadequate practical training. Respondents also flagged a familiar complaint among operators: inspections that weigh paperwork compliance more heavily than whether safety measures actually function onboard.

Szymanski framed the consequence bluntly. "If a procedure cannot realistically be completed with the time, people and equipment available, then we need to question the system, not blame the seafarer."

For shipmanagers and their clients, the finding carries a commercial dimension. Procedures that exist on paper but fail in practice expose owners to casualty risk, detention risk and insurance consequences — while doing nothing to protect the crews manning the assets.

What does InterManager want changed?

The association's recommendations center on frequency and practicality rather than new documentation:

• Regular, practical training instead of reliance on exercises completed early in a seafarer's career
• More frequent drills and refresher training
• Reliable gas detection equipment and effective rescue arrangements
• Greater crew input into the procedures they are expected to follow

InterManager also sees technology as a route to reducing exposure: wearable gas monitors, digital entry permits, hands-free communications and remotely operated inspection equipment.

Ship design is a further lever. Better equipment placement, improved coatings and more durable piping could cut the number of times crews must enter dangerous spaces in the first place — arguably the most reliable risk reduction available.

What is the IMO doing?

The findings arrive as the International Maritime Organization tightens its own framework. In June 2025, the IMO adopted revised recommendations for entering enclosed spaces, covering hazard identification, risk assessments and safe entry procedures. The organization is also conducting a broader review of the STCW Convention, with enclosed space training among the issues under consideration.

InterManager paired its recommendations with criticism of accident reporting across the industry. Delayed or incomplete investigations, the association warned, make it harder for operators to learn from previous incidents and prevent similar accidents — a data-sharing failure that keeps the same causal patterns repeating across fleets.

"We already know many of the factors behind these accidents. What is missing is consistent action," Szymanski said. "The priority now must be simpler procedures, better training, stronger leadership, improved ship design and far greater sharing of accident data."

InterManager will present the survey findings during a joint webinar with The Nautical Institute on October 27, bringing together maritime safety and human factors experts to examine what needs to change onboard and ashore.

"Enclosed space deaths are not inevitable," Szymanski said. "The industry has the knowledge to prevent them so why isn't it doing it already?" With revised IMO recommendations already adopted and STCW review ongoing, operators should expect regulators and PSC regimes to keep tightening scrutiny of how entry procedures work in practice, not just how they read on paper.