A theoretical review of human error in maritime accidents

Abstract

Over many years, shipping has been the most international of the world’s great industries. The global economy depends on shipping due to the lowest cost of trading. However, the shipping industry has experienced a substantial number of accidents and studies have shown that most of the accidents are due to human error. Although the International Maritime Organization (IMO) had implemented the International Safety Management (ISM) Code in 1998, human errors still exist and could not be eliminated. This paper provides a review of past research on maritime accidents attributed to human error and a review of the accident MV Sewol that occurred in 2014. It is found that there has been limited research on human-related errors being done to date in Malaysia. There is indeed a need for this research to be undertaken as maritime accidents result in loss of lives, loss of property and marine pollution.