Maritime safety as part of and overlapping with water safety is concerned with the protection of life (search and rescue) and property through regulation, management and technology development of all forms of waterborne transportation. The executive institutions are the national and transnational maritime administrations. maritime accidents, while characterized by a level of safety of the order of 10⁻⁵ (1 serious accident per 100,000 movements), which is only slightly inferior to that of the field of air transportation (10⁻⁶) are a significant source of risk for insurance companies, transport companies and property owners.^[1] Beyond that, of course, ship owners and maritime institutions have to ensure that casualties at sea (mostly by drowning) are kept to the possible minimum. Organizational and human factors are critical antecedents to accidents such as MV Prestige, Herald of Free Enterprise, MS Sleipner, MS Estonia, Bow Mariner and Hoegh Osaka as well as the infamous Titanic.^[2]

For a complete list, see Category:Maritime safety organizations

• European Maritime Safety Agency
• Maritime Gendarmerie
• Danish Maritime Safety Administration
• Norwegian Maritime Authority
• Maritime Safety and Rescue Society

• China Maritime Safety Administration

• South African Maritime Safety Authority
• Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency

• United States Coast Guard

• Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
• Maritime Safety and Security Information System

• Chauvin, Christine (2011-09-12). "Human Factors and Maritime Safety". Journal of Navigation. 64 (4). Cambridge University Press (CUP): 625–632. doi:10.1017/s0373463311000142. ISSN 0373-4633. S2CID 129186816.
• Oltedal, Helle (2018). Managing maritime safety. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-71297-9. OCLC 1021303983.