Analysis of human factors in container ships' marine accidents

Abstract

Around 80% of the world’s trade is transported by sea, and more than half of it is transported by containers. Container ships are getting bigger and bigger, and their average size has doubled in the last 20 years. Their size has increased from 1st-generation ships that could carry about 1000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU) to ships carrying 24000 TEU. However, accidents involving giant container ships can cause catastrophic consequences for world trade and the global economy; such was the case with the grounding of the container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal in 2021. Therefore, it is imperative to reduce the probability that such accidents will occur by improving the safety of container ships. In addition, according to literature, about 85% of marine accidents are caused by human factors, so to understand accidents’ origin and causes, there is a need to meticulously examine accidents, namely safety accident investigation reports, to classify human and other factors of accidents, such as organizational ones. This process leads to determining the most common factors, enabling suggestions for corrective measures, and implementing proactive ones. The investigation and analysis of marine accidents is a corrective approach where the immediate and root causes of accidents are discovered. Based on the analysis of accident investigation reports, suggestions for the reduction of such unwanted events can be brought to light.In this paper, the marine accident reports involving container ships are analyzed using the Human Factor Analysis and Classification System for Marine Accidents (HFACS-MA) method, aiming to determine the most frequent marine accident causes connected to human factors. Based on the results of the analysis, associated corrective safety measures are proposed.