ANALYSIS OF MARITIME ACCIDENTS IN MALAYSIAN WATERS

Abstract

Throughout the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait, more than 60% of all maritime trade passes each year.  The rapid growth in fleet size and ship size may lead to an increase in maritime accidents. Since many maritime accidents cause serious injuries, fatalities, damage of property and monetary losses, it is essential and crucial to discuss about marine safety. In this study, a statistical analysis was performed in order to assess the number of maritime accidents that occurred in Malaysia between 2018 and 2021, as well as the percentage of accidents that occurred in each accident category and for each type of ship. The analysis also considers the age of the ship. The data that were presented also looks into a potential relationship between the age of the ship and the accident percentage. The results demonstrate that general cargo ships were the ship categories that are most vulnerable to maritime accidents; collisions were the accident type that occurs most frequently, and there were several relationships between the accident percentage and ship age. The results may be utilized to help seafarers, related government agencies and other relevant organizations promote risk prevention, create efficient risk response plans, and establish strategies to enhance the marine mechanism for managing safety in Malaysian waterways.