Application of the cloud theory and AHP methods for stowaway incidents on ships

Abstract

Stowaway incidents on board not only cause serious legal and economic problems but also threaten operational safety and the lives of stowaways. The aim of this paper is to perform a safety assessment of stowaway incidents. In this context, the main criteria and sub-criteria that cause stowaway cases are established. The importance levels of these criteria are determined by weighting. To achieve this, a cloud model-based analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach is applied. While the AHP weights the criteria, the cloud model (CM) deals with uncertainties. This approach can also be applied to other safety assessments. In the evaluation, the port-related (2) and ship-related (1) main criteria were identified as relatively critical elements. Moreover, sub-criteria 1.3 (Regular monitoring and patrolling of onboard areas) under main criterion 1, sub-criteria 2.1 (Socioeconomic situation) under main criteria 2, and sub-criteria 3.1 (Duration of the operation) under main criterion 3 were determined as relatively critical factors. The findings of the study provide valuable insights and a roadmap for strategic planning to ship crew, shipowners, terminal authorities and safety researchers in terms of identifying priority areas for the prevention of stowaways.

Keywords

• Maritime transportation
• stowaway
• Cloud-AHP model
• safety assessment

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