Incidents that involved a failed, missing or defective structure, equipment or system are categorised as Technical occurrence types. The most frequently reported category of technical failures in 2019 were power propulsion and steering (26%), followed by navigational monitoring equipment (17.6%). Of the 56 serious incidents in 2019 involving a technical failure, 41 were related to power propulsion and steering (73%).
![Figure 24. Number of incidents categorised by technical occurrence type and severity (2019)](/sites/default/files/inline-images/figure-24.png)
Figure 25 presents the top 10 most frequently occurring level 3 equipment and/or system faults that resulted in the above level 2 technical failures for 2019. Under Power propulsion and steering, the following level 3 technical failures include main engine/gearing (406), auxiliary engines/ alternators (130) and steering gear/rudder (70). Equipment related to the navigational monitoring equipment failures were radar (175), voice data recorder (VDR) (85) and electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) (76).
![Figure 25. Top 10 most frequently occurring equipment failures reported (2019)](/sites/default/files/inline-images/figure-25.png)
Figure 26 shows that the number of power propulsion and steering failures are proportionally higher compared to other technical failures for vessels aged 20 years and over.
![Figure 26. Proportion of technical incidents related to Power Propulsion and Steering by vessel age (2019)](/sites/default/files/inline-images/figure-26.png)