Actual and perceived safety on board Swedish ships.

This paper aims to examine the status of safety on Swedish ships by looking at the following two aspects: the performance of Swedish ships in port state control (PSC) inspections and the perception of safety culture (SC) on selected Swedish passenger vessels. The methodology applied in the first part of the study involves the analysis of PSC statistics (vessel deficiency rate and detention rate) related to Swedish ships inspected in foreign ports. The second part employs a method for SC assessment including a standardized questionnaire filled out by crew members of five Swedish passenger vessels in the international trade. The two sets of data were used to make a comparison between the perceptions of safety/perceptual audit and the behavioral sampling (i.e., the PSC statistics). The preliminary results showed some indications of better SC being manifested in a higher level of safety indicated by exhibiting fewer deficiencies at PSC inspections.