CHIRP Maritime Annual Digest 2025-26: The Safety Risks Most Likely to Affect You at Sea

What CHIRP Maritime Is — and Why It Matters to You

CHIRP Maritime is the UK’s Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme for seafarers and maritime workers. Any crew member — from cadet to Master, on any vessel type, from any country — can submit a safety report confidentially. CHIRP analyses the submissions, removes identifying information, and publishes findings to drive industry-wide learning.

The 2025-26 Annual Digest analysed 330 reports received across all maritime sectors. This summary covers the key risks identified, why they matter, and what practical steps you can take on your next vessel.

330 Reports: What the Numbers Mean

330 confidential reports sounds modest — but these are reports that seafarers chose to make, often describing situations that were managed without official incident records being filed. They represent the visible tip of a much larger body of near-misses, unsafe acts, and systemic conditions. The value of CHIRP data is pattern recognition: when the same type of incident is reported repeatedly across different vessel types and operators, the underlying cause is usually systemic — not a one-off failure by one individual.

Emerging Risks in 2025-26

Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs)

USV operations are growing for survey work, cable route inspection, and harbour services. CHIRP 2025-26 flags a consistent interaction hazard: conventional vessel bridge teams are not always identifying USVs correctly on radar, and USV operators are underestimating the impact of their vessels on conventional traffic in congested coastal areas.

Practical implication: on watch, treat any radar contact that behaves erratically or fails to respond to VHF hailing as a possible USV. Maintain a wider closest point of approach margin than you would for a manned vessel. Report any near-collision with an unidentified vessel through CHIRP if it does not go through official channels.

Dark Fleet Operations

The “dark fleet” — vessels circumventing sanctions by switching off AIS, manipulating voyage data, or operating under flags of convenience with minimal oversight — is now a significant safety concern, not only a compliance issue. CHIRP 2025-26 identifies dark fleet vessels as a collision risk in the North Sea, Baltic, and Black Sea approaches specifically.

If you work in these waters: treat vessels without AIS signals or with unusual transponder behaviour as higher-risk contacts and maintain appropriate separation. If you observe dark fleet activity, report it to your Flag State administration. Seafarers on these vessels themselves face particular risk — reduced oversight means reduced safety standards.

Persistent Traditional Hazards

Enclosed Spaces

Enclosed space fatalities continue to occur every year in global shipping. CHIRP data confirms they are consistently under-reported: seafarers who manage a close call in a confined space without a formal fatality frequently do not report it. The underlying pattern is unchanged: entry without testing for oxygen deficiency or toxic gases, inadequate standby provision, and failure to use supplied air. These are not new hazards — but familiarity breeds complacency, and complacency kills.

The rules are non-negotiable. If the permit is not signed, do not enter. If the atmosphere has not been tested in the last 30 minutes, do not enter. If rescue equipment is not staged and a trained standby is not in position, do not enter. These are not bureaucratic requirements — they are the specific conditions under which people die when they are ignored.

Unsafe Pilot Boarding Arrangements

Pilot ladder safety is a consistent CHIRP finding. The 2025-26 digest identifies overlong pilot ladders that bow away from the ship’s side, spreaders at incorrect intervals, boarding arrangements set up without accounting for swell conditions, and inadequate lighting for night embarkation. As crew responsible for rigging the ladder, the obligation is yours. As officer of the watch or Master, it is yours to verify before the pilot arrives. The Maritime Pilot Association publishes current guidance — it should be in your SMS.

Slips, Trips, and Falls

Still the most frequently reported injury category across maritime sectors. Wet working decks, fatigue-related inattention on gangways, and deteriorating non-slip surfaces generate the highest volume of actual injuries — even if they do not make headlines. Report deck surface deterioration through your SMS near-miss system. If the hazard is live, a “fix it next port” response is not acceptable. Under the ISM Code you have the right to refuse unsafe work — document the refusal if you need to use it.

How to Submit a CHIRP Report

CHIRP accepts reports from any seafarer, anonymous or named, via chirpmaritime.org. Reports can cover any safety concern: a near-miss, an unsafe practice observed repeatedly, or a systemic problem with a vessel’s SMS. CHIRP does not investigate individual companies or report back to employers. The purpose is industry-wide pattern identification, not punishment.

If your company has a genuine near-miss reporting culture, use it — internal reports drive vessel-level improvement. If your company’s culture makes reporting feel unsafe, CHIRP is the alternative. The maritime industry improves its safety record when seafarers report what they see. The 330 reports in 2025-26 are part of that improvement — your report in 2026-27 could prevent the next serious incident.

What CHIRP Data Means for Your Career

Operators who take safety seriously — the kind of operators worth working for — track CHIRP digests and adjust their SMS accordingly. A seafarer with a track record of safety awareness, near-miss reporting, and ISM compliance is a more valuable crew member than one who simply stays silent. Noting any safety-related training, near-miss reporting experience, or familiarity with ISM Code procedures on your Crew Connect profile signals to safety-conscious recruiters that you take these responsibilities seriously.