Data-driven Bayesian risk assessment of factors influencing the severity of marine accidents in port areas

The most prevalent types of ship accidents in port areas are allisions, collisions, and groundings. A comprehensive risk assessment is needed to prevent and mitigate these accidents and their consequences. This study evaluates the risk of such accidents in port areas by presenting a model that elucidates the relationship between risk-identifying factors (RIFs) and accident severity. In this context, the RIFs are determined by analyszing the reports of 528 accidents that occurred in port areas between 1995 and 2023. Subsequently, the model is created by analysing the data derived from these reports using the Tree Augmented Naive Bayes (TAN) algorithm, which is an approach of the data-driven Bayesian network method. The findings of the study indicate that accident type, wind, ship age, and vessel type are the most influential factors in predicting the severity of accidents in port areas. It is thought that the model will assist port authorities in identifying operational risks contributing to accidents and in formulating preventive regulations.