A Japanese Vessel Capsizes! 3 People Missing! 刚刚发生！日本船只倾覆！3人下落不明！

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In the early hours of January 6, a fishing boat capsized near the waters off Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures in Japan.

 

It is suggested that there were 20 people on board the fishing boat, with 3 people missing, 2 in cardiac and pulmonary arrest, and 1 injured.

 

Some rescued crew members said that the accident was led by a large number of fish entering the net, causing the vessel to tilt. According to local media, the boat was engaged in sardine fishing at the time.

 

当地时间1月6日凌晨，日本千叶县、茨城县附近海域，一艘渔船发生倾覆事故.

 

据了解，渔船上共有20人，其中3人下落不明，有2人处于心肺功能停止状态，1人受伤.

 

有获救船员称，事故发生原因为大量鱼进入渔网，导致船体倾斜.据当地媒体消息，该船当时正在进行沙丁鱼捕捞作业.

 

 

Frequent Maritime Accidents at the Start of the New Year

新年伊始海上事故频发

 

At the beginning of 2025, multiple maritime accidents have occurred worldwide, drawing widespread attention. From fishing boat capsizing to ship fires, various types of maritime accidents are becoming increasingly common.

2025年刚刚开始，各地已发生多起海上事故，引起了广泛关注.从渔船倾覆到船舶失火，各类船舶事故屡见不鲜。

 

The Tunisian government confirmed that on the evening of January 1, two boats carrying illegal immigrants sank near the Kerkennah Islands. The accident resulted in 27 deaths and 83 people were rescued.

 

The two boats were carrying a total of 110 illegal immigrants, all from sub-Saharan Africa, including women and children.

 

As of now, the cause of the accident is still under investigation.

 

新年初始，由突尼斯政府证实，当地时间1月1日晚，两艘载有非法移民的船只在科肯纳哈(Kerkennah)群岛海域附近沉没，事故共计造成27人溺亡，另外83人获救.

 

两艘船共计搭载110名非法移民，均来自撒哈拉以南的非洲地区，其中包括妇女和儿童.

 

截至目前，事故原因仍在调查中.

 

Shortly after the Tunisia accident, according to Indonesian police, on the morning of January 3, a speedboat carrying about 30 people capsized near the Maluku province, resulting in 8 deaths, all Indonesian nationals. Another 22 people were rescued.

 

The search and rescue operations have now concluded.

 

突尼斯事故发生不久，据印尼警方消息，在当地时间1月3日上午，一艘载有约30人的快艇在马鲁古省附近海域倾覆，已致8人死亡，均为印尼人.另有22人获救。

 

目前搜救工作已结束。

 

On the same day, a maritime accident occurred in Thailand. Chinese tourist Geng and his family encountered a yacht sinking accident in Na Chom Thian Bay, Pattaya, Thailand, resulting in a loss of 200,000 yuan worth of property.

 

The yacht sank due to seawater influx, and they were rescued by passing boats. The travel company refused to take responsibility. On the day of the incident, there were warning flags indicating not to go out to sea, but the company ignored them. They have reported the case to the police, demanding action against the involved company and an investigation into its legality.

 

同日，泰国也发生了一起海上事故.中国游客耿某及其家人在泰国芭提雅Na Chom Thian湾遭遇游艇沉船事故，损失20万元财物。

 

游艇因海水涌入沉没，他们被路过船只救起。旅游公司拒绝负责。事发当天有警示旗提醒勿出海，但公司无视。他们已报案，要求处理涉事公司并调查其合法性。

 

The following day, on January 4 at around 10:27 am, a fishing boat carrying 22 people capsized after hitting a reef near Jeju Island, South Korea, resulting in 3 deaths. The other personnel jumped into the sea after the boat began to capsize and were subsequently rescued by the coast guard and nearby boats.

 

The specific cause of the accident is still under investigation.

 

隔天，当地时间1月4日10时27分许，一艘载有22人的钓鱼船在韩国全罗南道附近海域触礁后倾覆，造成3人死亡.其他人员在船体出现倾覆后跳海，随后被海警和附近船只救起.

 

具体事故原因有待进一步调查。

 

On the same day as the South Korean fishing boat accident, around 5 pm, the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration (CGA) received a notification that a 50,000-ton bulk carrier had caught fire in the waters off Pingtung County. The crew managed to extinguish the fire, but three crew members suffered minor injuries, and one suffered severe burns.

 

As of Sunday, the tugboat towing the bulk carrier had left the coast of Taiwan and was slowly heading northwest.

 

在韩国钓鱼船事故发生的同日，1月4日下午 5 点左右，台湾海巡署 (CGA) 收到通知，载重 50,000 吨的散货船在屏东县海域发生机舱火灾.船员设法扑灭了大火，但三名船员受轻伤，一名船员严重烧伤。

 

截至周日，拖船拖带这艘散货船，已驶离台湾海岸，以缓慢的速度向西北方向行驶.

 

As of now, we have learned about the aforementioned accidents. In recent years, maritime accidents have been frequent. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has provided an overview of the number of maritime accidents, vessel losses, and the number of fatalities or injuries over the past decade. Below are some of the data.

截止到目前，已了解到有以上事故发生。近年来，海上事故频发，欧洲海事安全局（EMSA）对近十年的海上事故数量、船舶损失、死亡或受伤人数等内容进行了概述。以下是部分内容数据。

 

Trends in Maritime Accidents

海上事故趋势

 

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has released an overview of maritime casualties and other accidents for 2024, presenting data on maritime casualties and accidents reported by EU member states from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2023:

欧洲海事安全局（EMSA）发布了2024年海上伤亡及其他事故年度概览，介绍了欧盟成员国报告的2014年1月1日至2023年12月31日期间的海上伤亡及事故数据：

 

Accident Hotspots

事故多发地

 

From 2014 to 2023, more than half of maritime casualties and other accidents occurred in inland waters (port areas and others), followed by territorial waters and the high seas. The data for 2023 aligns with this trend.

 

Classified by voyage segment: The percentage of accidents during the departure phase is the lowest (8.2%), while the "voyage" phase accounts for the highest percentage (44.1%).

 

Classified by region: The North Atlantic (22.5%) and the Mediterranean (17.9%) are the regions with the highest accident rates, although passenger ships have more accidents in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea.

 

2014至2023年，超过一半的海上伤亡及其他事故发生在内河水域（港口区域及其他），其次是领海和公海。2023年的数据与这一趋势相符。

 

按航段划分：出发阶段的事故百分比最低（8.2%），而“在航”阶段占比最高（44.1%）。

 

按区域划分：北大西洋（22.5%）和地中海（17.9%）是事故发生率最高的地理区域，但客船在地中海和波罗的海事故更为多发。

 

Causes of Accidents

事故发生原因

 

From 2014 to 2023:

 

58.4% of accidents are related to human actions;

 

49.8% of accident contributing factors are related to human behavior;

To sum up, human factors account for 80.1% of the investigated maritime casualties and other accidents. 

 

2014至2023年：

 

58.4%的事故与人的行动有关；

 

49.8%的事故促成因素与人的行为有关；

两者合计，人的因素在调查的海上伤亡及其他事故中占比80.1%.

 

Maritime accidents are often caused by human factors, but the long hours and lack of rest for sailors are significant contributors to these incidents. However, violating work hour regulations remains a persistent issue in the shipping industry.

海上事故多由人为因素引起，但船员长时间高强度工作，休息不足，是导致事故的重要原因。但在航运业内违反工作时间规定，依旧是一个长期存在的问题。

 

Despite the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) establishing comprehensive work and rest hour standards to regulate shipping work hours

over the past few years, numerous studies have shown that records made to comply with these standards are often falsified.

 

There is a widespread unspoken rule in the industry to adjust records, with the aim of creating the illusion of compliance to maintain the smooth operation of vessels. A research report titled "Quantifying an Inconvenient Truth: Revisiting a Culture of Adjustment on Work/Rest Hours," commissioned by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and released by the World Maritime University (WMU), indicates that seafarers face the dilemma of excessive working hours and insufficient rest. According to the report, compared to shore-based workers, seafarers have longer and more monotonous working hours. Survey results show that only 3.3% of seafarers have a weekly working hour that aligns with the global average of 43 hours.

 

尽管国际劳工组织ILO和国际海事组织IMO都确立了完善的工作休息时间标准以规范航运工作时间，但过去几年的多项研究显示，为了使其符合标准而作的检查记录，往往都存在造假行为。

 

整个行业普遍存在一种调整记录的潜规则，其目的是营造出一种符合规定的假象，从而维持船舶的平稳运行.ITF委托世界海事大学WMU发布的一份研究报告《Quantifying an Inconvenient Truth Revisiting a Culture of Adjustment on Work/Rest Hours》表明，海员面临着工作时间过长以及休息不足的困境，而依据这一报告，着重指出，与岸上的从业者相比，海员的工作时间更为漫长且枯燥。调查结果显示，仅有3.3%的海员每周工作时间与全球平均43小时的工作时长相契合。

 

To improve vessel safety and enhance the occupational safety and health of seafarers, it is recommended to strengthen crew training, raise safety awareness and emergency response capabilities, and reasonably arrange work and rest for seafarers to ensure they get adequate rest and recovery, thereby reducing operational errors caused by fatigue. Relevant departments need to increase supervision, improve regulations, ensure the authenticity of work hour records, combat falsification, and promote an industry-wide culture of integrity in work hour management. At the same time, shipping companies should actively create a caring work environment for seafarers, pay attention to their physical and mental health, provide necessary psychological support and welfare benefits, and jointly create a safe maritime transportation environment to protect the lives of seafarers and the safety of the oceans.

为提高船舶安全和改善海员的职业安全、健康，建议在加强船员培训，提高安全意识和应急能力的同时，还应合理安排海员工作休息，确保他们获得充分的休息和恢复,保障船员健康,从而减少因疲劳引发的操作失误；相关部门需加大监管，完善法规，确保工作时间记录的真实性，抵制造假行为，推动行业建立诚信的工作时间管理体系。同时，航运企业应积极营造关怀海员的工作氛围，关注他们的身心健康，提供必要的心理支持和福利保障，共同营造安全海上运输环境，守护船员生命与海洋安全。