An Evaluation of the Effects of Human Factors on Pilotage Operations Safety

In recent years,marine pilotage accidents occurring on a worldwide basis as a result of human error have not been ceased to transpire,despite advances in technology and a significant set of international conventions,regulations,and recommendations to reduce them.This paper aims to investigate the effect of human factors on the safety of maritime pilotage operations.The human factors that affect the operators who are performing ships’berthing operations have also been examined in detail.In this study,in order to determine the causes of human-related errors occurred in maritime pilotage accidents,a comprehensive literature review is carried out,and a considerable number of real past case examples and an analysis of the maritime accident investigation reports regarding pilotage operations events that occurred between 1995 and 2015 have been reviewed.To validate the identified humanrelated risk factors(HCFs)and explore other contributory factors,survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with domain experts have been conducted.A structural hierarchy diagram for the identified risk factors(HCFs)has been developed and validated through experienced experts belonging to the maritime sector.A questionnaire for pair-wise comparison is carried out and analysed using the analytic hierarchy process(AHP)approach to evaluate the weight and rank the importance of the identified human causal factors.The findings of this study will benefit the maritime industry,by identifying a new database on causal factors that are contributing to the occurrence of maritime pilotage disasters.The database can be used as a stand-alone reference or help implement effective risk reduction strategies to reduce the human error,that might occur during pilotage operations.

From mandatory icebreaker guiding to a permission regime: changes to the new Russian legislation of the Northern Sea Route

This article focuses on two issues. The first concerns definitions of the Northern Sea Route （NSR） in old and new Russian legislation, and the second relates to Russian rules on icebreaker guiding. Based on a comprehensive comparative analysis of relevant Russian legal provisions enacted in 2013 and previous laws in this area, we offer the following conclusions. （1） Our legal analysis indicates that Russia＇s view of the NSR as a historical national transportation route has not changed. However, the new law redefines the scope and coverage of the NSR, which now comprises the internal waters, territorial sea, adjacent zone, and the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation. In fact, the new law resolves previous ambiguity regarding extension of the NSR boundary to the high seas. （2） Based on an analysis of the new rules on icebreaker guiding, the article concludes that NSR is transitioning from a mandatory icebreaker guiding regime into a permit regime. This is particularly evident in its provision of a concrete, practical, and predictable clause on permissible or impermissible conditions relating to independent navigation. According to the new rules, it is possible for foreign ships to undertake independent navigation in the NSR. The Russian NSR policy, therefore, appears to have changed significantly, and has future potential for opening the NSR up to the international community.