This article summarizes the key findings from IMCA's 2025 Safety Statistics Report and looks at what they mean for dropped object prevention specifically.
Injury rates improved across the offshore marine contracting sector in 2025, but IMCA also reported seven fatalities, four of them offshore, a reminder that lower injury rates don't necessarily mean the risk of serious harm is under control.
Key Findings from the 2025 Data
IMCA's report, based on 1.02 billion hours worked across 167 contractor Members, presents a mixed picture for the year.
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LTIFR improved from 0.30 to 0.27 injuries per million hours worked.
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TRIR improved from 1.10 to 0.98 recordable injuries per million hours worked.
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Fatalities rose to seven, including four offshore; reported causes included a fall from height, electrocution, and a mooring incident involving a parted rope.
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Safety observation reporting (SOFR) fell by around 20%, from 482.1 to 387.1 observations per 200,000 hours worked, and IMCA states the reason is not yet clear.
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Line of fire remained the leading cause of lost time injuries in 2025.
Dropped Objects: A Recurring Concern
IMCA names dropped objects directly as a recurring concern across offshore operations, linking them to lifting, work at height, equipment condition, secondary retention, and housekeeping. The report is explicit about the stakes: dropped objects "have clear serious injury and fatality potential," placing them among the high-consequence hazards the industry needs to prioritize. This sits within the broader line-of-fire category, IMCA's leading cause of LTIs, which also covers lifting and rigging, mooring, moving equipment, and suspended loads, reinforcing that dropped objects are not an isolated or minor risk theme but part of a wider pattern IMCA flagged across the 2025 dataset.
Why This Matters for Safety Professionals
IMCA's own framing is a useful check for any safety programme: fewer recordable injuries does not automatically mean the risk of fatal or life-changing harm is falling, which is why the report pushes Members to look at leading indicators, not just lagging injury statistics. On dropped objects specifically, IMCA's guidance points to a few concrete control areas: secondary retention of fittings, equipment condition checks, and routine dropped object inspections. It's worth noting that "secondary retention" in this context refers to the engineered method for securing the primary fixing itself, think locking washers, locking wire, or split pins, so that bolts and fasteners don't loosen under vibration or dynamic load. This is a distinct control from the backup systems, like nets or safety wires, that catch an item if the fixing fails completely.
How Dropsafe Helps Address These Risks
Dropsafe's product range is built to support the practical controls IMCA highlights, particularly around inspection and line-of-fire exposure.
Both solutions act as the final line of defence, restraining or containing an item should upstream controls, including secondary retention, be compromised, rather than replacing the fastener-level work IMCA's report points to.
Closing
Dropped objects remain a persistent, high-consequence risk according to IMCA's own 2025 data, and the report's message is clear: progress on injury rates should not be read as evidence that this risk is under control. If your team hasn't recently reviewed its dropped object prevention programme or inspection practices, now is a reasonable time to do so. Reach out to Dropsafe at info@dropsafe.com to discuss how our inspection-friendly nets and barrier systems can support your existing controls.