The grim tally of maritime and port fatalities this summer isn’t just a string of unfortunate accidents—it’s a systemic failure, rooted in corporate greed, deregulation, and union complicity. From the Tidewater Polaris tragedy off New York to the dockworker drowning in Macao, these deaths are the predictable outcome of a system that treats human life as collateral damage in the pursuit of profit.
The industry’s opacity compounds the crisis. There’s no global, real-time database for maritime workplace deaths. Reporting requirements vary wildly, and multinational corporations exploit these gaps to avoid scrutiny. Deaths are often categorized as “medical events” or “incidents under investigation” and disappear from public record. This concealment is integral to a business model built on speed, minimal staffing, and maximum throughput.
The human element and its exploitation
Fatalities are often blamed on what companies call the “human element”—fatigue, inadequate training, and procedural non-compliance. But these terms obscure the underlying reality: workers are pushed beyond safe limits by economic pressures that prioritize profit over life. Long shifts, insufficient rest hours, and relentless “turnaround” schedules normalize corner-cutting. Training is truncated or skipped entirely to save time and labor costs.
A 2008 statement by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) admitted the essential point: the struggle for safety rules is fundamentally a struggle against these pressures. But in practice, even strong-sounding regulations are undermined by the economic dictatorship of the shipping and logistics giants with the collusion of the union bureaucracies.
Mechanical and operational failures remain a major cause of death. A recent DNV report identified machine damage or breakdown as the leading trigger for serious maritime incidents, often stemming from inadequate maintenance. The push toward decarbonization introduces new hazards—alternative fuels such as ammonia and methanol bring toxic and explosive risks for which many crews have no training. The industry’s rush to “green” technology without parallel investment in safety measures is laying the groundwork for “next-generation” disasters.
The maritime environment itself compounds these dangers. Falls into water or from height are among the most persistent killers. International Labour Organization (ILO) figures from 2023 documented 91 “person overboard” incidents globally—almost certainly an undercount—demonstrating that such deaths remain endemic despite decades of awareness. The greatest risks fall on frontline crew and dockside laborers, who perform the most dangerous physical work and often have the least leverage to demand protections.
The deadly cargo
The June 2025 update of the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association’s (ICHCA) Severe Risks Dashboard confirms the systemic character of the problem. Since 2000, more than 500 dockworkers have been killed in the course of cargo handling worldwide. Four causes account for the overwhelming majority: crushing by cargo (27 percent), vehicle-pedestrian collisions (23 percent), falls (18 percent), and confined space incidents (14 percent).
Crushing deaths usually involve cargo falling, shifting, or overturning. The principle that no worker should stand beneath a suspended load is universally recognized—yet routinely ignored under the pressure to move goods faster. Vehicle collisions involve massive, often blind-spotted equipment such as straddle carriers, forklifts, and yard trucks moving perilously close to unprotected workers. Falls—from gangways, cranes, or stacked containers—are frequent and deadly, made worse by inadequate rescue provisions. Confined space incidents occur when workers enter oxygen-depleted or toxic areas without proper equipment, often to “just quickly” perform a task.
More than three-quarters of all fatalities occur during active cargo operations, where the profit imperative is at its most intense. Deaths are nearly evenly divided between shipboard and shore-based sites. Bulk carriers, general cargo ships, and roll-on/roll-off vessels are deadliest at sea; on land, quaysides, terminals, and warehouses claim the most lives. Containerized cargo—central to global trade—is the single most lethal cargo type for dockworkers.
Unions as enforcers of the corporate agenda
The hundreds of dockworker deaths are the result of a profit-driven regime in which the union bureaucracy is an integral part. On the U.S. coasts, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) in the East and Gulf and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in the West together cover more than 100,000 dockworkers.
ILA President Harold Daggett, who takes home over $1 million a year and who runs the union as his personal fiefdom with his son Dennis Daggett, personifies the degeneration of the unions into agencies of class collaboration. “America First” Trump supporters and militarists who backed the US