U.S. Navy’s Afloat Accident Rate Hits Decade High, Led by MSC
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The U.S. Naval Safety Command has released its accident numbers for FY2024, and the report shows a rising rate of serious mishaps in the fleet. The number of afloat Class A mishaps – accidents resulting in a fatality, permanent disability, or property damage over $2.5 million – rose to a decade-high number, led by accidents in the surface fleet and a spike in casualties at Military Sealift Command.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To be sure, the statistics suggest that the Navy loses far fewer personnel at sea than on land. The average rate of class A mishaps is many times higher on shore, where personal motor vehicle accidents claim the lives of about 40 sailors a year –\u00a0the majority in motorcycle crashes. (On average, off-duty motorcycle riding\u00a0is the most dangerous activity in the Navy.)<\/p>\n
While less dangerous on average than driving, going to sea still involves risk. The accident rate afloat has been above average for the last three years: there were eight incidents in 2022, eight in 2023 and a decade-high 10 incidents in 2024. The year’s major accidents include the loss of two Navy SEALs at sea off Yemen in January; two other man-overboard incidents; an electrocution accident on a submarine in May; an LCAC collision; and four material casualties aboard MSC sealift vdessels, which\u00a0– while serious – did not result in injury to crewmembers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The increase in accidents at MSC accounted for the sudden jump in casualty numbers. The division reported no Class A accidents at all in seven out of the last nine years,\u00a0but the count jumped to four in 2024. These incidents included an underway-replenishment accident on November 15, the grounding involving oiler USNS Big Horn<\/em> on September 23, an underway equipment casualty off San Diego on August 1, and a flooding casualty on January 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n The potential for underway casualties may be somewhat reduced next year, since Military Sealift Command plans to sideline 17 vessels due to a crew shortage. The plan was signed on October 30 and confirmed to the press\u00a0three weeks later. Currently-employed MSC crewmembers from the idled ships will be reassigned to fill gaps in the rest of the fleet; with a planned 95 percent billet fill rate and a lower number of vessels at sea, the potential for afloat accidents at MSC could be reduced by the end of FY2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t
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