Survey on grounding incidents: Statistical analysis and risk assessment

The most important concern in the maritime field is the safety of ships at sea. The improvement of marine safety is always a target for all involved stakeholders. The concern augments in the case of ships carrying cargo harmful to the environment and the passenger ships carrying thousands of lives. Accidental limit state analysis provides a basic methodology for the assessment of the grounding behaviour of a ship. The application of the method requires the definition of grounding scenarios and the associated probability of occurrence. The article presents the determination of probability of occurrence of grounding, which is based on a database of accidents involving Greek ships from 1992 to 2005. Parameters influencing the occurrence of groundings are identified and investigated using statistical significant tests.