Spatial and Statistical Analysis of Operational Conditions Contributing to Marine Accidents in the Singapore Strait

Abstract

Narrow waterways are important connection hubs, also known as logistics transfer nodes, within maritime transport, where maritime traffic can become very dense and congested. Heavy traffic, unsuitable environmental conditions and human errors make narrow waterways risky areas for marine accident occurrence. Accidents in narrow waterways cause ship damage, loss of cargo, loss of life and environmental disasters, as well as interruption of maritime transport and negative impact on the economy. Thus, the sustainability of navigational safety in narrow waterways has been the focus of attention of all beneficiaries in the maritime industry. The Singapore Strait is one of the busiest narrow waterways in the world in terms of the number of ships transiting. Sustaining and safe maritime transport in the Singapore Strait is significantly important for the sustainability of the global trade. Therefore, it is vitally important to appropriately identify the threats to safety of navigation in the Singapore Strait. In this study, the operational conditions that have played a role in the occurrence of accidents in the Singapore Strait are examined. For this purpose, using the Geographical Information System (GIS), the areas where marine accidents are concentrated were determined by the Kernel Density Analysis method and a “Marine Accidents Density Map” was created for the Singapore Strait. The relationship between the dense areas in the marine accidents density map and the operational conditions that play a role in the accidents in the Singapore Strait were examined using the Chi-Square Test and expert opinions. The results of the study indicate that if there is a condition (e.g., turning, joining to the traffic stream, or failure in propulsion/steering systems) that directly or indirectly disturbs the normal flow of traffic in the Singapore Strait, the risk of having an accident increases. The results of this study can be used to determine the measures to be taken for the prevention of possible accidents, as well as to help manage the risks associated with the ships that pass through the region.

Estimating Accident Reduction Rate after Maritime Traffic Safety Assessment Using Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique and Machine Learning Algorithm

“…Yildiz et al used GIS to develop a "Marine Accidents Density Map" for the Singapore Strait by reviewing areas where marine accidents are concentrated by performing the Kernel Density Analysis method [12].…”

A Study on Grid-Cell-Type Maritime Traffic Distribution Analysis Based on AIS Data for Establishing a Coastal Maritime Transportation Network

“…To construct a CMTN that ensures ship safety in relation to these government policies, it is necessary to first identify the maritime traffic characteristics of each sea area by examining the current state of maritime traffic distribution in Korean coastal waters and the operational environmental conditions [8,9]. There are cases of evaluation of the risk of maritime traffic in ports by calculating the nautical-port risk index [10], and cases of preemptive response to the future maritime traffic environment by analyzing the causes of marine accidents in the Singapore Strait through spatial and statistical analysis [11]. In addition, there is a case of quantitative analysis of the navigation risk in Arctic waters using dynamic BN [12].…”

Ship Collision Risk Assessment

“…The Special Issue, 'Ship Collision Risk Assessment', introduces 12 papers which include newly developed approaches to reduce the risk to a ship in the fields of the material, structural capacity/layout, avoidance, navigation/algorithms, etc. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…Additionally, there are lots of collision accidents. A spatial and statistical analysis of operational conditions in the Singapore Strait were conducted by Yildiz et al [6]. They developed a 'Marine Accidents Density Map' for the Singapore Strait by adopting the Geographical Information System (GIS).…”