While 133 accidents occurred on the 536 square kilometre area of Lake Constance and the 21 kilometre section of the High Rhine up to Schaffhausen in the previous year, this figure rose by 87 percent to 249 accidents. These statistics include shipping, swimming and diving accidents as well as "other accidents" on Lake Constance. While the number of accidents in Baden-Württemberg (+93), Vorarlberg (+16), Bavaria (+11) and St. Gallen (+3) increased, the number of accidents in Thurgau (-4) and Schaffhausen (-3) decreased slightly.
Shipping accidents on Lake Constance 2023
The proportion of shipping accidents is significantly higher than in the previous year. The heads of the maritime and waterway police recorded a total of 148 shipping accidents last year. While 40 collisions were recorded in 2022, there were 13 more in 2023. Last year, 31 boats were also counted on Lake Constance that got stuck (previous year: 23). 20 ships sank due to water ingress (previous year: 10) and 19 capsized (previous year: eight). The number of fires/explosions and accidents on board remained the same as the previous year, with six and three accidents respectively.
The shipping accidents involved 90 motorboats, 72 sailing boats, 19 rowing boats, eight commercial vessels and two surfers. The total amount of damage totalled 513,000 euros. In the previous year, the figure was 468,ooo euros. Two people lost their lives in the shipping accidents, 26 were injured and one person is still missing.
Accident locations and causes of shipping accidents on Lake Constance
A total of 50 shipping accidents occurred in ports and on jetties, 43 within the 300 metre shore zone. While 19 of the 148 shipping accidents occurred on the Old Rhine, the Maritime Rhine or the High Rhine, there were 36 on the open lake.
The causes of the accidents involving ships were also published. According to this, 77 accidents occurred due to a lack of care on the part of the skipper, 28 due to technical defects/equipment, 18 due to storms and swell and seven due to non-compliance with navigation rules.
Storm warning and sea rescue service
The number of missions for sea rescuers on Lake Constance also increased. While they had to be deployed 431 times in 2022, the sea rescuers were deployed 539 times in 2023. In addition, storm warnings had to be issued more frequently than in 2022: the number of deployments in the storm warning service rose from 324 to 518. Maritime and water police officers also rescued 629 people from distress at sea (previous year: 493) and 311 boats were rescued by the rescue services.
The lake and water police on Lake Constance give the following advice for the 2024 season:
- Have your life-saving equipment ready and put it on in good time
- Ensure that the minimum equipment is complete and functional
- Monitor the weather situation and the weather news
- In an emergency on Lake Constance, use the international emergency number 112 and, if necessary, emergency channel 16 on VHF radio
- Pay attention to accident prevention on board (avoid tripping hazards, take a safe seat, use handholds for safe standing)
- As a water sports enthusiast, find out about the applicable regulations. In particular also about the applicable regulations with regard to fitness to sail
- Check the licence of your boat as well as the gas and electrical systems
- Protect your boat from theft and burglary and report any suspicious behaviour to the police immediately
- Pay attention to the strong wind and storm warning lights on Lake Constance. These warn with a lead time of about one hour with 40 flashes per minute (strong wind warning) from 6 Beaufort or with 90 flashes per minute (storm warning) from 8 Beaufort
