Risk Analysis for Vessel Accident Prevention in Marine Areas: An Accident-Theoretic Perspective on Spatial Aspects of Risk

Abstract

Area-based marine management approaches aim to mitigate the risks and impacts of shipping on human safety at sea and on ecosystems in marine and coastal environments. Through various regulatory initiatives and policy practices, risk assessment has been established as an important element to support decision-making for area-based marine management. This chapter focuses on the use of risk assessment for supporting decisions to manage navigational risks through risk control measures such as the design of vessel traffic separation schemes, the selection and positioning of aids to navigation, and the definition of operational requirements from a vessel traffic management perspective. To facilitate further developments in this domain, this chapter provides a brief overview of risk analysis techniques currently promoted at the international level, and selected approaches proposed in the academic literature are outlined. A discussion is provided on these selected techniques, through the lens of accident causation theories, focusing on how aspects related to the marine space are conceptualized in these techniques. Finally, directions for future research and development are outlined.