Abstract
Shipping is a high-risk industry and prone to accidents. A near-miss management system is an important aspect of the safety performance in shipping because the causes are the same for near-misses and accidents. Reporting, analyzing, and learning from near-misses can prevent the recurrence of accidents and thus improve safety on ships. This paper addresses near-miss management systems in shipping and provides insights into the quality of the implementation of these systems, with an emphasis on the importance of reporting. Research data were derived from two surveys and supported by data gained from near-miss reports and existing literature reviews. Professional seafarers of various ranks, ages, nationalities, and experiences, serving on tankers, cruise ships, bulk carriers, and container ships, voluntarily participated in these surveys. The first survey comprised 223 participants, and the second survey involved 22 participants. The research results indicate that near-miss reporting is inadequate, and several barriers limit appropriate near-miss reporting. The difficulty of seafarers in identifying near-miss events was found to be one of the major barriers to near-miss reporting at sea. Based on this research, a conceptual model of a near-miss management system was developed, and measures that can be applied to overcome barriers and increase reporting are proposed.
Highlights
Numerous new technologies have been introduced onboard seagoing ships and in the seaborne transport system to reduce the number of accidents and improve safety, accidents at sea continue to occur
There is an uneven approach to the analysis of reported cases, as well as inadequate reporting and investigations of near-misses in shipping. This is an evident problem in the shipping industry and this paper presents an overview of seafarers’ attitudes towards and knowledge of near-miss management systems
A near-miss management system in shipping offers one of the most valuable instruments for improving safety onboard seagoing ships, which is the ultimate goal of modern shipping
Summary
Numerous new technologies have been introduced onboard seagoing ships and in the seaborne transport system to reduce the number of accidents and improve safety, accidents at sea continue to occur. The analysis of accidents involving seagoing ships indicates an active approach to accident reduction, i.e., accidents are investigated to reveal their root causes and implement corrective measures that can reduce the risk of accident recurrence. This knowledge is mainly based on accidents and does not take into consideration events or dangerous occurrences that could lead to accidents. Near-miss reporting and analysis, and the implementation of adequate corrective measures based on investigation results, can prevent the recurrence of near-misses and accidents with the same root cause. Near-misses can be used for learning about and the prevention of possible accidents [1]
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