Maritime Safety

2021 is a key moment of opportunity for UK maritime security. The publication of the government’s Integrated Review in March is being followed by a systematic ‘refresh’ of the UK’s 2014 National Strategy for Maritime Security. In this article, Christian Bueger, Timothy Edmunds and Scott Edwards examine the role and significance of this strategy refresh, consider key priority issues for enhancing maritime security, and reflect on the challenges and opportunities that policymakers will face turning strategy into action. They conclude by arguing that getting maritime security right will be critical to delivering on the UK’s ambitions in security and foreign policy more widely.

An effective maritime search and rescue  system is vital for Sri Lanka, as it provides a safer and more secure environment for maritime-related industries, recreation, tourism, travel and an overall economic development. However, I found in this study that the existing system is ineffective due to a comparatively high number of deaths and injuries despite maritime search and rescue (SAR) efforts. Thus, a number of external and internal studies have been conducted to find out ways to improve the SAR system of Sri Lanka by using ‘International convention for search and rescue 1979’ (SAR convention) as a yardstick. In this paper, I discuss the validity of the SAR convention in the Sri Lankan context and propose the implementation of best practices learnt from Japan SAR system through a comparative analysis.

SUMMARY Most serious accidents at sea are caused by minor incidents that escalated into an uncontrolled situation. This study is aiming to develop a model to investigate the likelihood of fatal accidents, given that a critical incident has already occurred. The focus of the study is on human behaviour, adopting a hardware reliability perspective. The vessel is considered as a safety-critical system to be protected by several barriers. The crew role is modelled as active barriers and distinguishing between different functions: perception, decision and action. A Markov approach is proposed to model different situations on the vessel. A mathematical model to estimate the probability of failure in an emergency situation is formulated. A new parameter is defined for the survivability of a vessel, given that a critical incident has taken place. The methods were applied to examine ship-platform collisions cases and the results show strong benefits for diagnosing and evaluating accidents from a human factors perspective as well as for training purposes.

Safety on board of merchant ships is one essential issue, to the passengers, the crew, the cargo, the environment and the ship itself. If an emergency scenario arrives and abandon ship is necessary, the activations of safety rafts becomes a must, so its previous maintenance turns to be the most relevant level pointing to proper readiness in such emergency cases. Bearing that in mind, the objective of this study is to analyse the process criteria of maintenance on safety rafts applied by such permanent servicing station in Venezuela. In order to achieve the objective proposed it was establish the comply of legal’s and technical requirements, as well as the technological aspects used and followed up of established procedures steps; knowledge and management abilities of stand personnel on the operability of liferafts was also pointed. The study was developed through documentary reports, in a field research mode and with a descriptive level design, applied to main participant’s actors: four (4) safety rafts maintenance stations, direct involved personnel of Venezuelan maritime authorities, harbour masters and ships owners. As conclusions, it was observed a lack of innovations knowledge from shipowner, weak of survey endurance and knowledge practices from maritime authority, the criteria of maintenance between the ILRSS and the authority does not match, it is not entirely clear the criterion of who is the responsibility of installing on board the liferaft.

The objective of this study is focused on the analysis of incidents or near misses as an essential factor in the proactive management of maritime safety. The IMO established in the ISM Code, Section 9th, provisions for the report and analysis of cases of non-compliance, accidents and potentially dangerous events, finding us before a legal obligation and not a mere recommendation or scientific curiosity.

The approval and implementation of the Code also represented a revolution in the maritime world, due to four great qualitative contributions of great conceptual entity: a) The transition from a culture of regulatory compliance to a safety culture; b) The establishment of a transparent management system for maritime safety; c) Shared responsibility for security management (Ship-Company-Captain / Shipowner-DPA); d) The implementation of proactive management of maritime safety, with a dynamic character and continuous improvement mechanisms.

To the extent that accidents and near misses or incidents share their causes (Hypothesis of identical causality), the study of incidents presents a greater number of practical advantages compared to accidents: their greater statistical number; its great informative value; its low cost; no legal or liability concerns; greater analytical and conceptual value, possibility for social participation and dissemination of the maritime safety culture.

This is why, practically unanimously in scientific doctrine, the notification of non-compliances and deficiencies, in which we could encompass the terms of "incident" and "near-miss" by crewmembers, has been considered a significant indicator of a properly functioning safety culture validating the continuous improvement cycle. Near misses are opportunities: If the underlying causes are identified and remedied early, the likelihood of recurrence of the event is greatly minimized. If, on the other hand, it is not identified and managed, the incident will be forgotten and its harmful potential will remain latent.

All maritime nations have incident reporting systems: CHIRP; REPCON; SECURITAS; MARS; FORESEA; NEARMISS.DK. All of them are analyzed and studied at this work. Likewise, the international bases GISIS and EMCIP. Special attention is paid to the Spanish model, with very poor results: the CIAIM does not investigate incidents, despite the fact that its name includes them and the notification by companies is generally extremely low. Aspects that are treated and proposals for improvement are provided.
The management of near misses is equally widespread in potentially dangerous industries: air transport, industrial plants and even in the healthcare sector. In all these activities, their treatment is a critical safety factor. Therefore, they are equipped with NMS (Near miss management systems), whose main characteristics are established in four fundamental phases: Identification of the event and notification; Evaluation of the event; Application of prevention measures; Follow-up actions.

Changes are coming in the maritime industry: digitization; autonomous ships; etc. they will require much more complex and secure security management models, where the management of near misses is basic. The work, beyond its conclusions, makes recommendations in practical terms.

In this book, I argue that there is a need to revisit Perrow’s seminal contribution, Normal Accidents. I discuss conceptual and empirical changes in the past three decades and show the relevance of thinking our current situation with the help of this classic book when confronted to these changes; hence, the prefix “post”.

This paper shows the changes that have occurred to the Manila Amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers Code (STCW 2010 Code). In the School of Maritime Engineering of the University of Cantabria with the degrees in Nautical Engineering and Maritime Transport (Deck Officers), Marine Engineering (Engine Officers) and Maritime Engineering (Naval Engineering), we have taken into consideration all these changes and have adapted them to the academic training of the STCW 2010 Code. We recognize the need to train our maritime protection students (future officers, Captains and Chief Engineers of the Spanish Merchant Marine) with the latest and most effective tools and protocols. Thanks to the Maritime Collaborative Website of the Spanish Navy (ENCOMAR) we can complement and ensure the theoretical and practical training of our students to improve their knowledge on Maritime Security.

Over the years, the International maritime Organization (IMO) has developed several maritime safety management practices, regulations and codes at the global level for adoption by signatory coastal states and implementation by maritime operators to ensure safety of navigation and related maritime operations. The coastal states too have made many local safety rules and regulations to supplement domesticated IMO rules. However, the challenge in the full implementation of these safety instruments in the maritime sector particularly in Nigeria remains with the lack commitment of adequate financial resources to invest in these basic safety regulations and practices and training, since most of the safety management practices require employee training in order to yield desired result. The lack of commitment to investing in safety management practices has being linked by previous literature to poor knowledge of the level of returns on investment in safety management practices by indigenous operators who view

Disasters have grabbed the human imagination since antiquity. Whether for heroism or arrogance, folly or fate, these tales show the best and worst of humanity when faced with extreme danger.

This book introduces seven events of tremendous importance, yet while some have risen to legendary proportions – cloaked by myth and error – others have become all but forgotten despite their shocking details.

All are a warning from history:

The two ‘unsinkable’ ships
Britain’s deadliest railway error
The torpedo that changed warfare
An engineering nightmare
The darkest day on the Thames
The English Hindenburg

This paper reviews the existing multilateral structures in the IOR - notably the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) – in the context of various geopolitical facets, ranging from geo-economics to regional security and good order. It examines and recommends options to bolster economic multilateralism in the IOR though a comprehensive two-fold approach. The first one seeks to enhance intra-regional trade, maritime-economic connectivity, and technology sharing, delving into issues relating to a region-wide FTAs, the amalgamation of economic corridors within IORA, and, the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The second is founded upon the indispensability of a secure and conducive maritime environment for economic development, and addresses Maritime Safety and Security (MSS), as also ‘good order’ in the IOR.  It suggests measures to bolster the IORA’s nascent MSS architecture with a web of bilateral, trilateral and sub-regional mechanisms, emphasising the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) as the key functional enabler of IORA’s MSS agenda. It also examines the imminent challenges relating to Freedom of Navigation (FoN), and undertakes an appraisal of Sri Lanka’s draft Code of Conduct (CoC) for the Indian Ocean. The arguments presented hinge upon the suggestion that the collective approach of the IOR countries should ideally be in consonance with India’s prime-ministerial enunciation of the concept of SAGAR — Security And Growth for All in the Region. If each Indian Ocean country’s economy is a ‘boat’, the Indian ‘boat’ cannot rise unless all ‘boats’ rise with a rising economic tide.

A rather significant number of business entities already operate within (or, have considered to exploit) the Arctic region, focusing upon previously untapped resources such as precious minerals and large quantities of oil and gas; touristic and fishing activities are clearly on the rise, with various endeavors of maritime transport also being put forward. Up until recently, harsh year-long environmental conditions have significantly hindered the necessary access and transport connections in the Arctic. Even in the case that weather conditions did permit vessels' passage, unreliable navigational aids and lack of infrastructure/support provided obstacles difficult to overcome. However, environmental data recorded during the last couple of decades clearly indicates that there is a continuous decline of ice coverage in the BHigh North.^ Given this steady decline, the Arctic has now been viewed as a promising field for economic activities and is considered as a potential connecting corridor between Asia and Europe/America (and vice-versa). As human presence and operations are expected to intensify there, it is of utmost importance to evaluate the current level of support towards ships that will be crossing the region; capabilities in relation to search and rescue (SAR) operations and oil spill response are also important. The analysis in hand will first deliver a discussion of the so-called Arctic Passages. While various different maritime routes have been proposed in relation to the Arctic, the most promising one, the Northern Sea Route (NSR), will provide the epicenter of discussion. Through an extensive literature review that includes numerous internet resources, the current WMU J Marit Affairs (2018) 17:129–147 Shipping operations support in the BHigh North^: examining availability of icebreakers along the Northern Sea Route analysis will identify the numbers of icebreakers already operating in the NSR, as well as those that will be commissioned into service in the near future. The choice to research the specific type of vessels is supported by a simple argument: icebreakers currently are and will continue to be in the foreseeable future the main Btool^ to support shipping activities in the Arctic. Furthermore, emergency management capabilities in the Russian Arctic will be examined to include the current state of rescue coordination centres along with the availability of SAR assets. Additionally, the efforts thus far by the Arctic Council to increase coordination and interaction among the States involved in Arctic affairs will be summarized; the latter will be achieved via a brief review of a very important legally binding agreement: the Bsearch and rescue^ instrument. In conclusion, the Russian State has already heavily invested in icebreakers' building and their current number is fully capable to handle the present level of limited traffic. On the other hand, ships are currently faced with long distances to cross (often without adequate support) adverse environmental conditions, unpredictable hurdles, and slow response times in case of an emergency. Therefore, in case ships operating in the region are increased, it will be difficult to deal with all the additional demands for support. Of particular interest is the fact that considering the vast area of the NSR, the overall available response capabilities in the region under discussion are rather thin; any further increase of maritime traffic in the BHigh North^ must be balanced with additional strengthening of emergency management capabilities. In any case, should the NSR become fully integrated in the global maritime transport system, Russia's geopolitical status will be clearly improved and further research is needed to discuss the implications both at the regional and global levels.

Man overboard (MOB) is defined a person who has fallen to the sea from a boat or a vessel in the water and needing to rescue; this person may be crew member of coast gourd, merchant ship or fisher. According to previous studies, international maritime conventions such as SOLAS, MLC, and STCW covered emergency procedures of MOB accident. There are two gaps; first, there is no any automatic systems needed to be onboard to detect MOB at the moment of falling overboard, where statistics illustrate that up to 75% of MOB finally died or missed due to nobody saw them at the moment of falling, especially if the ship steaming high speed. The second gap is that the smoke life buoy is not effective to rescue the victim due to ship's movement away from him, especially in the presence of white horse in rough sea, and if he doesn't wear life jacket. Therefore, drones equipped with smoke life buoy, GPS, and thermal camera will be effective more than traditional equipment. The research discusses and analyses the extremely useful of implementation an integrated MOB rescue system onboard ship for monitoring, tracking and rescuing. These systems use an infrared human motion detector or wrest band which transmit signal for bridge receiver to give alarm once person fall in water; this is called automatic MOB detection system, ECDIS built-in SAR software and drones for quick response to arrive accurate position of victim. Research aims to improve rescue operation of MOB to reduce loss of life at sea, through the amendment of current international maritime convention related to MOB emergency procedures.

Shipping is the industry that can be characterized as the largest international and the most globalised one, as about 90% of the world trade transported by sea٠ What we see today is a series of structural changes transformed the world's shipping industry to its today's globalised character٠ The number of the international maritime cooperation's appears to be increased as frames of multinational shipping companies formulating multicultural constellations in the goal of the shipping industry٠ Therefore, the era of mixed crews bodies of the maritime manpower various nationalities are existed٠Furthermore, the world's largest fleets are attacked by crews multiculturalism, in fact mixed nationality crews are not a new phenomenon but it became a 'hot' issue nowadays٠ The human factor is often point out in the explanation of many of today's accidents at sea, so Communication difficulties often occur in these areas due in part to cultural languages differences but also due to language 'barriers'٠ IMO recent analyses illustrate the problem if there are any lessons to be learned for the future. The paper reveals the importance of maritime English, the language of the sea, as the fundamental of all communications between ship and shore members, and the needs of sufficient English language skills (on board ships, shipping companies members, and maritime instructors) that plays an important role in the development of safety and security on board merchant ships٠

Since the initial adoption of maritime safety standards, the focus was always on the ship"s design and equipment; nevertheless, many studies have revealed later that human factor and human error are the main reasons contributing to marine accidents. By the mid 1980"s the International Maritime Organization (IMO) gave attention to the role of human factor in the maritime accidents. IMO have adopted the concept of implanting the safety culture in shipping industry. The most significant instruments which were introduced to create safety culture are the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW 78/95) convention and the International Safety Management (ISM) code. After five years of implementing the two instruments, important questions which raise themselves now are: have ISM Code and STCW convention achieved their initial objectives related to the improvement of human performance in ship operations. Moreover, is safety culture rooted in the shipping industry?

Abstrak-Jurnal ini mengkaji Alur Laut Kepulauan Indonesia (ALKI) III-A, Selat Ombai yang terpengaruh oleh merdekanya Republik Demokrasi Timor Leste (RDTL). Dengan berdirinya Republik Demokrasi Timor Leste (RDTL) sebagai negara merdeka, secara langsung Selat Ombai yang semula berada didalam wilayah kedaulatan Indonesia kini menjadi wilayah perbatasan antar dua negara. Hal tersebut berdampak pula pada keabsahan ALKI III-A yang berada pada selat tersebut. Dengan demikian, maka ketentuan serta hak yang berlaku pada ALKI tidak diberlakukan di daerah yang masih belum jelas status kepemilikannya yang dilewati oleh garis sumbu ALKI III-A. Untuk mendukung penelitian ini penggunaan konsep keamanan maritim dan delimitasi batas maritim untuk menganalisis faktor apa saja yang digunakan untuk melihat perubahan Alur Laut Kepulauan Indonesia (ALKI) III-A. Kemudian konsep Alur Laut Kepulauan sebagai landasan dalam pembuatan skema alternatif Alur Laut Kepulauan Indonesia (ALKI) III-A. Penelitian dilakukan dengan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan fenomenologi yang mengandalkan data tinjauan pustaka dan wawancara serta analisis spasial guna menentukan skema alternatif. Hasil analisis bertujuan sebagai rekomendasi untuk pemerintah Indonesia dalam membuat Skema yang tepat bagi Alur Laut Kepulauan Indonesia III-A, Selat Ombai.

Maritime terrorism is a politically motivated crime launched at or from the sea. In recent years, there have been a number of terrorist incidents on land in the East African Community (EAC) region, all in Kenya. Nonetheless, no act of terrorism has yet occurred by sea in the EAC, even though Kenya shares both land and maritime borders with Somalia. This study investigates the likelihood of the EAC being the next victim of maritime terrorism. It also looks at why the EAC is so vulnerable to maritime terrorism. This study found that the likelihood of the EAC being a target of maritime terrorism stems from the fact that it borders Somalia and that Kenya is at war with al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorist group. Al-Shabaab has significant experience in the EAC maritime domain and the possibility of al-Shabaab using the Muslim youths it has recruited in Mombasa, Kenya and among ethnic Somalis living in Kenya further heightens the likelihood of the group attacking the EAC's shores. This study further found that the lack of a regional maritime security strategy (including a Maritime Domain Awareness programme), unpoliced maritime waters and poor cooperation between Kenyan and Tanzanian maritime law enforcement agencies make the region extremely vulnerable to maritime terrorism. The author of this study believes that this paper would act as a wakeup call to the EAC Secretariat and the politicians amongst the EAC member states on the importance of investing their political wills and financial resources in the regional maritime security efforts.

Throughout history shipping has proved to be a crucial factor of development. It marks the beginning of discoveries, trade and cultural exchanges. Maritime transports and transports in general actively contributed to the creation of international trade and globalization.  During the economical crisis (1980 and 2008) the economy of the European Union, the Member States and the maritime stakeholders were severely affected by the decline of the shipping industry. For that reason the European Community in order to enhance its position in the international maritime trade and remain a strong player decided to design a common maritime policy in order to support its European fleet and interests.
    Since then the EU has made some crucial steps in maritime policy and has at the same time promoted fair competition in trade, eliminated protectionism actions by Third Counties, protected the rights of the stakeholders, ensured that environmental issue are protected by law, created new organizations and platforms and has set even more goals for the future.
    Concerning maritime safety the EU has proved that disasters of the past can turn into important lessons for the future. For that reason, through the creation of the European Maritime Safety Organization, the EU in cooperation both with the Member States and International Organizations are taking action to ensure that those disasters will not be repeated.

The purpose of the current analysis is not to provide a complete history of the events leading to the establishment of the UNCLOS. However, certain details will be discussed to highlight UNCLOS’ extremely important influence on the topic of ocean governance. Furthermore, by considering that environmental data recorded during the past four decades clearly indicates a continuous decline of Arctic ice cover, it’s reasonable to expect that human presence and operations will intensify in the region. These activities will be often associated with contradicting priorities; the issue of effective Arctic governance is clearly standing out.

The Nairobi Convention of 18 May 2007 on the removal of wreckage, known by the acronym «WRC 2007» (from the English «Wreck Removal Convention»), entered into force on 14 April 2015.
It sets the legal framework for the removal of potentially dangerous wrecks. It applies ex se only to the exclusive economic zone.
It provides for compulsory insurance. The insurance certificate can only be issued by the Member States (and this could be a good reason for ratifying it, even by States who have not proclaimed EEZ, like Italy)

This paper shows the changes that have occurred to the Manila Amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers Code (STCW 2010 Code). In the School of Maritime Engineering of the University of Cantabria with the degrees in Nautical Engineering and Maritime Transport (Deck Officers), Marine Engineering (Engine Officers) and Maritime Engineering (Naval Engineering), we have taken into consideration all these changes and have adapted them to the academic training of the STCW 2010 Code. We recognize the need to train our maritime protection students (future officers, Captains and Chief Engineers of the Spanish Merchant Marine) with the latest and most effective tools and protocols. Thanks to the Maritime Collaborative Website of the Spanish Navy (ENCOMAR) we can complement and ensure the theoretical and practical training of our students to improve their knowledge on Maritime Security.

The Arctic landscape is being transformed with an unprecedented speed. However, this scientifically recorded decline of ice-coverage in the region under discussion is creating significant new business opportunities: maritime routes that were previously associated with " no-go " areas for navigation are now becoming more and more accessible. Shipping is directly affected by the opening of the so called " Arctic Passages ". A promise for shorter voyages from Asia towards Europe and/or the Americas (and vice-versa) is enticing; the decision however on whether to opt or not for one of these routes is complicated, with many varying aspects involved simultaneously. The definite answer regarding the economic viability of Arctic shipping is not there yet and chances are that for the near future even the most promising crossing, the Northern Sea Route, will remain of limited importance for the global maritime transport system. However, the number of ships operating in the Arctic will certainly increase in the future; the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) under a pre-emptive approach has already ensured a better future for the shipping industry in these challenging waters, through the adoption of the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code), which strongly regulates the safety domain.

In this paper we attempt to analyse the long-established problem of recruitment on board national ships, under both quantitative and qualitative terms, by examining firstly the general framework of the shipping industry. Within this framework are found the parameters that directly affect it. Particularly focusing on the Greek marine manpower market, the supply number of available seafarers, the vessel’s flag, the crew’s cost, the quality of training and the motives one has for building a career in the maritime sector, are illustrated. From the quantitative perspective, we have reached a high risk period where the seafarer’s profession is becoming unpopular. By presenting the available statistical data for a period of 20 years, we approach a critical point where new scientific methods must be adopted in the Greek maritime policies.

Sea Traffic Management is a concept developed during the last six years creating the culture of sharing information and collaborating to optimise the maritime transport and extending the benefits to the logistics chain and at the same time, enhancing maritime safety and the environment.
The project takes advantage of the several technology and equipment now installed onboard ships, improved by the use of information and communication technologies and the need for standardization procedures and protocols in the transport sectors. Few complementary tools introducing the use of VDES (VHF Data Exchange System) will make possible a radio communication system that operates between ships, shore stations and satellites on Automatic Identification System (AIS), Application Specific Messages (ASM) and VHF Data Exchange
(VDE) frequencies in the Marine Mobile VHF band. With the available data, communication channels and infrastructures, the digital information on-board and onshore are abundant; however, the interconnection today is point-to-point and proprietary and stops the industry becoming more efficient. We will discuss how Sea Traffic Management will help the industry achieve improved predictability by introducing standards for key information and supplying an infrastructure for information exchange. This enables all actors involved in the transport to plan better and utilise their resources more efficiently. Shorter routes, just-in-time arrivals, shorter port calls are factors
that will strengthen the competitiveness of the maritime sector. Improved situational awareness on the bridge and knowledge of planned routes will help optimised planning as well as reducing the number of incidents and accidents. The standard route exchange format submitted by the EU financed MONALISA 2.0 project partners in 2014 is included in the current edition of the IEC standard, which was launched in August 2015. Ship operators, savings on fuel and other costs, society saves on reduced emissions, and other actors associated with maritime operations benefit from a higher degree of infrastructural use. This paper explains the progress and preliminary results of the key enablers of STM Validation Project and the steps beyond the current EU funding support that must complete a promising picture of next decade maritime transport industry.

This paper addresses the problem of extracting traffic patterns from noisy and incomplete sensor data. We introduce an approach that combines the output of (particle filter based) tracking filters with GIS techniques. While tracking filters are standard tools for generating estimates of the position and velocities of individual objects over time, GIS techniques are used to extract geographic patterns from these estimates. GIS techniques also allow the integration of prior knowledge, such as coastlines and bathymetry, to enhance the quality of the extracted patterns. The approach has been applied to maritime traffic surveillance using report of the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which may be subject to GPS errors, spoofing, time delays and periods of missed detections. The results are continuous vessel tracks indicating each vessel’s route, even when the update rate of messages is significantly slower.

The capacity to address marine accidents could be enhanced through a thorough knowledge of what constitutes human factors and how they affect marine safety performance. This study investigated human factor issues that are responsible for maritime accidents in Nigeria and therefore gives maritime practitioners strategies for policy interventions. The study adopted a descriptive methodology, making use of survey design to collect data from 284 marine service operators in Nigeria. Data for the study was collected through semi-structured questionnaires, same were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistical tools such as mean, standard deviation, correlation and regression analysis at p<0.05. Results showed that nine human related factors are major causes of marine accidents; namely: poor crew interaction, crew fatigue, drugs and alcoholism, unsafe vessel speed, commercial pressure from management, complicated work processes, gap in working knowledge, faulty crew judgment...

The inland waterway is the easiest and most cost-effective way to transport passengers and merchandise in Bangladesh. However, the inland waterway accident is a huge concern for a long time in the country. Every year numerous accidents are taking place in the inland waterways of the country. These accidents are unfavorably affecting the people and nature. The accidents occur due to several causes, such as human errors, machinery error, design error, etc. This paper analyzes the characteristics of those accidents based on the accident data of the last 25 years, from 1995 to 2019. The accident data was collected from the Accident Research Institute (ARI) and some renowned national daily newspapers of Bangladesh. The data were analyzed according to a number of variables, such as comparison of casualties, the number of accidents per year, vessel type, accident-prone districts, and distinct analysis of the last ten years accident records to see whether any particular changes to the trend occurred. The study has found that collision is the most frequent accident type and passenger's vessel is the most contributing vessel type responsible for the accidents. The paper describes some effective solutions as well. Application of Artificial Intelligence, increasing awareness, and developing more skilled maritime professionals might be proven effective.

For NATO, Maritime Situational Awareness (MSA) is defined as “the understanding of military and non-military events, activities and circumstances within and associated with the maritime environment that are relevant for current and future NATO operations and exercises -where the Maritime Environment (ME) is the oceans, seas, bays, estuaries, waterways, coastal regions and ports”. To cut a long way short, the overall objective of this concept is to maximize the synergy of the MSA stakeholders/contributors to produce sufficient awareness in order to detect and prompt appropriate action on illegal activity in sufficient time to prevent harm. On the other hand, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is using a similar concept; IMO defines Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) as “the effective understanding of anything associated with the maritime domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment”. In the later definition, the maritime domain includes all areas and things of, on, under, relating to, adjacent to, or bordering on a sea, ocean, or other navigable waterway, including all maritime-related activities, infrastructure, people, cargo, and vessels and other conveyances. No matter of the definition used, the issue of MSA is a universal endeavour demanding a global approach. Existing Maritime Security Institutions (MSI) however have the tendencies to focus on regional or even local issues, each of them with a very specific scope. Therefore the establishment of habitual and persistent relationships between stakeholders across a wide spectrum at all levels, from governance and law making, to regulatory and enforcement functions, and to the business community, bears the potential to significantly enhance MSA -globally, regionally, as well as locally. An integrated approach towards MSA collaboration can be provided via connecting the various MSls into a globally focused “enterprise”, where a single piece of disparate information collected by one MSI can be shared in a common network. This could result in the creation of a Recognized Maritime Picture which may be available and accessible also to other stakeholders on the basis of trust and confidence. The analysis in hand will explain the effort towards the establishment of a “Maritime Safety and Security Network” (MarSaSeN) that involves both military and civilian institutions and is based on NATO, EU and UN cooperation.