The legal technology of expert studies of water transport accidents leaves much to be desired. Until now there is no logically correct definitions of water transport accidents in the legislation, its types and components are not investigated in the literature. Appointment of technical expertise of water transport accidents is performed without a unified system of concepts and general methodological basis. The requirements for expertise are excessively dependent on external factors and vary significantly depending on the type of legal process in which expert studies are conducted. The mentioned shortcomings do not yet allow the technical expertise of transport accidents on water to become in practice a convenient and effective tool for achieving the truth. Solving the above-mentioned and related issues is among the objectives of research in this area.