The rapid sinking of the Bayesian superyacht and the loss of seven lives in August 2024, including tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, cruelly emphasized the potentially lethal perils of the sea. This tragedy, although much publicized, is far from unusual. Globally, accidents at sea lead to thousands of deaths every year—but the true scale of the problem is unknown.
Undoubtedly, life at sea remains hard and dangerous in the 21st century, but this is difficult to quantify. There were 215 shipping industry related deaths at sea recorded in 2022. However, due to a lack of standardized data and under-reporting, this figure is likely to be an underestimate.
Efforts to raise awareness and improve safety at sea today have much to learn from historic and successful safety initiatives in the UK's docks. My research on early 20th century docks shows that proper data is a prerequisite to understanding a problem and identifying trends. Such an assessment can then lead to the allocation of resources, targeted safety measures —and life-saving change.
These steps all apply to improving safety at sea, but the lack of accurate data is a real stumbling block. Life and death at sea Fishing is widely recognized as the "most dangerous occupation globally" , but estimates of deaths among the fishing community vary enormously from 32,000 to more than 100,000 deaths per year. Of course, such deaths also occur inland in lakes and rivers, as well as at sea.
Twenty-six vessels of over 100 gross tons were.
