THE SAFETY OF SHIP BERTHING OPERATIONS AT PORT DOCK – A GAP ASSESSMENT MODEL BASED ON FUZZY AHP

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the safety of ship berthing operations at port dock. Based on the features of ship’s berthing operations and the relevant literature, the safety factors (SFs) of ship berthing at port docks are first investigated. A gap assessment model based on Fuzzy AHP is then proposed to assess the perceived differences on those SFs between port marine pilots and shipmasters. Finally, the ships’ berthing operations at Kaohsiung Port in Taiwan were employed to illustrate the model’s practical application. The result may provide practical information for both marine pilots and shipmasters to improve the safety performance of ship berthing operations at port docks.