Professional social rating as an innovative tool for reducing losses in the water transport economy

Abstract

Aim. The presented study aims to analyze the statistics of water transport accidents to identify the most common cause of such accidents and to propose an innovative solution to this problem. Tasks. The authors investigate the frequency of water transport accidents in 2017–2021; systematize their causes and identify the most common ones; examine the statutory regulation and supervision of water transport; identify its drawbacks and propose an unconventional solution to the problem of regulation and supervision of water transport, which can be considered as innovative. Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition: analysis, synthesis, generalization, visualization, and forecasting to analyze data on water transport accidents in 2017–2021, establish cause-and-effect relationships of accidents, and predict the dynamics of individual indicators. Results. Data on water transport accidents are grouped, the causes of accidents on river and sea vessels are ranked, and the vector of changes in the accident rate is predicted (adjusted for the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic). The authors propose the idea of combating the main cause of most water accidents – the human factor. Conclusions. The human factor causes 74% of water transport accidents, and existing methods of supervision and control are not effective enough. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce a professional social rating for workers and employees in water transport and its infrastructure. This will make it easier for shipowners to hire personnel, improve control and supervisory procedures and investigation of incidents, and increase the motivation of personnel to perform their duties diligently, while also positively affecting the level of safety and economic efficiency of water transport enterprises and their infrastructure. This proposal seems appropriate in the context of the national project “Digital Economy”.