Dutch Port of Amsterdam saw the total number of maritime accidents in the North Sea Canal region drop to 32 in 2017, from 44 reported in the previous year.

Around 7,000 seagoing vessels arrived in the ports of the North Sea Canal Area over the past year, including nearly 4,700 in the Port of Amsterdam, while around 40,000 barges called at the port region during the year.

“While the number of ship calls has remained level, the number of maritime accidents has fallen in recent years,” Marleen van de Kerkhof, Amsterdam Harbour Master, said.

The decline was attributed to the preventive measures taken by the port to increase the safety of, and improve safety awareness among, port users. These measures include risk-driven surveillance by the inspectors and port officials of the Harbour Master’s Division.

Over the previous three year, there were a total of 120 maritime accidents, the majority of which were collisions with objects, mostly near lock complexes. During this period, 21,106 seagoing vessels and 117,996 barges called at the Port of Amsterdam.