In this paper, general statistics of ship grounding incidents are considered and the damage extent distributions for Ro–Ro ships are presented from the results of a comprehensive damage data survey conducted using Lloyd's Register's damage database. Theoretical models and semi-empirical formulae based on parametric studies are used to study the damage extents of grounded ships. Two real life grounding accidents are assessed. One is a single hull VLCC grounded onto a single rock and the other is a cargo ship grounded onto multiple rocks. A simulation based on a simple multi-rock scenario has been conducted on a 304-m single hull tanker. Correlation is made between the present calculation method results, statistical results and IMO requirements. The paper concludes with the main findings from the study.