How Many People Die Sailing Each Year?

The Coast Guard’s database of reports reveals that there were 4,180 fatalities and 841 injuries in 2021, with an estimated fatality rate of 1.19 deaths per million sailing person-days. This is higher than the 1.06 fatality rates for alpine skiing and snowboarding. In 2020, the Coast Guard reported 5,265 accidents involving 767 deaths, 3,191 injuries, and approximately 62.5 million dollars of damage to property due to recreational boating accidents.

Canada experiences a 25.1% surge in boating fatalities during the Covid pandemic. Over 5,000 boating accidents occur yearly in the U.S., causing 62.5 million deaths. The EMSA released its annual review of maritime casualties, reporting 3,174 casualties and incidents in the last five years.

From 2014 to 2021, the total number of reported fatalities in marine casualties and incidents was 563, with 376 marine casualties. In 2022, 38 large ships were lost, a decline from 59 in 2021. The Safety Shipping Review 2023 reports improvements in maritime safety.

Federal estimates suggest that 100 people die each year in boating accidents, with many more suffering serious injuries. The majority of these fatalities can be attributed to weather or hazardous waters. In 2022, the fatality rate was 5.4 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels, a 1.8% decrease from last year.

In 2016, the RNLI reported 10 deaths in sailing accidents that year. In the United States, 564 people died as a result of boating accidents in 2023. The overall number of deaths and injuries related to boating is estimated at 1.19 deaths per million sailing person-days.