Governing shipping externalities : Baltic ports in the process of SOx emission reduction

This paper analyses the debate which has unfolded in the Baltic Sea Region regarding the reduction of sulphur content in vessel fuels, in order to illustrate how tightening environmental regulation challenges traditional forms of maritime governance. Using an interactive governance approach, this study reconstructs the process of sulphur emission reduction as a complex multi-stakeholder interaction in multiple contexts. The empirical investigation has drawn on documentary material from around the Baltic region, including Russia, and has applied the method of qualitative content analysis. The empirical study focuses on two interlinked questions: (1) How sulphur emission reduction policies are being anticipated by maritime industry, in particular by Baltic ports and (2) How port adaptation strategies are tied into Baltic local and energy contexts. Addressing these questions highlights the role of polycentricity in shipping governance and explains how the same universal international regulations can produce varying patterns of governance. The paper concludes that policy-making shall take an account of the fact that the globalized shipping industry is nevertheless locally and sectorally embedded.Peer reviewe

A global approach to mapping the environmental risk of commercial harbours on aquatic systems

The goal of this paper is to propose a screening method for assessing the environmental risk to aquatic systems in harbours worldwide. A semi-quantitative method is based on environmental pressures, environmental conditions and societal response. The method is flexible enough to be applied to 15 harbours globally distributed through a multinational test using standardised and homogenised open data that can be obtained for any port worldwide. The method emerges as a useful approach towards the foundation of a global environmental risk atlas of harbours that should guide the harbour sector to develop a more globally informed strategy of sustainable development

Safety culture and hazard risk perception of Australian and New Zealand maritime pilots

A survey of the safety culture and hazard risk perception has been carried out involving 77 maritime pilots around Australia and New Zealand, representing more than 20% of the maritime pilots in each country, in proportional geographic districbution

Aquatic Ecosystem Risk Assessment Generated by Accidental Silver Nanoparticle Spills in Groundwater

This paper aims to create a new model for assessing the ecosystem risk in rivers and wetlands that are linked to accidental spills of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in soil/groundwater. Due to the uncertainty of the modeling inputs, a combination of two well-known risk assessment methodologies (Monte Carlo and fuzzy logic) were used. To test the new model, two hypothetical, accidental AgNP soil spill case studies were evaluated; both of which were located at the end of the Llobregat River basin within the metropolitan area of Barcelona (NE Spain). In both cases, the soil spill reached groundwater. In the first case, it was discharged into a river, and in the second case, it recharged a wetland. Concerning the results, in the first case study, a medium-risk assessment was achieved for most cases (83%), with just 10% of them falling below the future legal threshold concentration value. In the second case study, a high-risk assessment was obtained for most cases (84%), and none of the cases complied with the threshold value. A sensitivity analysis was conducted for the concentration and risk. The developed tool was proven capable of assessing risk in aquatic ecosystems when dealing with uncertain and variable data, which is an improvement compared to other risk assessment methodologies

Introduction of the human factor in the generic failures frequencies of accidents through fuzzy logic

The frequency of an accident scenario is one of the key aspects in the risk assessment field and it is most commonly assessed by a generic failure frequency approach; the accuracy of the calculations is based on the quality of the data used. There exist different sources of generic failure frequencies such as the Reference Manual Bevi Risk Assessments (2009), the Failure Rate and Event Data for use within Risk Assessments of the HSE (2012), and the Handbook of Failure Frequencies of the Flemish Government (2009). Each one of the aforementioned sources takes into account different variables, but aspects such as the mechanical failures or the human factor are not explicitly detailed. Although the mechanical failures may have been considered indirectly, the human factor is difficult to quantify. The latter is a major cause of undesired events in process industries. Due to the complexity of quantifying human error and the causes that lead to it, this factor is not often considered in most of the generic failure frequencies databases. In the present work, the generic failure frequency is modified through the use of fuzzy logic. This theory allows including qualitative variables not considered by traditional methods and deal with the uncertainty involved. A fuzzy modifier has been developed in order to introduce the human factor in the failure frequency estimation. The model takes into account the inclusion of human factors variables such as Organizational factors (Contracting, Training, Communication and Reporting), Job Characteristics Factor (Workload Management, Environmental Conditions, Safety Equipment), Personal Characteristics Factor (Skills and Knowledge, Personal Behaviour). In order to design the proposed model experts’ opinion is necessary. Therefore a questionnaire to gather information on the aforementioned variables has been designed. 40 international experts in the field of risk and human factors have replied, providing interesting results on the different weight of the variables and on the inputs required for the model. As a first attempt to test the model, this has been applied to a real case study of a chemical plant, obtaining new frequency values for a selected event tree. Since the human factor is now reflected in the failure frequency estimation, these new values are more realistic and accurate. As a result, an improvement of the final risk assessment is achieved

Inclusion of Human Factor into Risk Assessment through a Fuzzy Frequency Modifier

The frequency of an accident’s occurrence is a key aspect to take into consideration in the field of risk assessment. Aspects such as the human factor, which is a major cause of undesired events in process industries, are usually not considered explicitly in the frequency estimation, mainly due to the uncertainty and complexity associated to them. Failure frequencies are modified by a fuzzy modifier that has been developed in order to introduce the human factor in their estimation. The model includes variables such as Organizational Factors, Job Characteristics Factor and Personal Characteristics Factor. Applying this methodology, new values of frequencies have been obtained. To develop the fuzzy modifier the opinion of experts has been taken into account through the completion of a questionnaire. The new values are considered more realistic and accurate since the human factor is now reflected. Consequently, this improves the final risk assessment when it is applied to techniques such as QRA (Quantitative Risk Analysis). In this study, a real chemical installation, which stores flammable products, was examined using QRA and the fuzzy modifier. The introduction of the human factor through the fuzzy frequency modifier provided more conservative results than those obtained without considering this facto

A procedure for identifying significant environmental aspects in sea ports

A new methodology has been designed to identify and rank the significant environmental aspects in sea ports. The main objective of the Strategic Overview of Significant Environmental Aspects (SOSEA) is to help port managers to identify significant environmental aspects and to reinforce the awareness about them in order to prioritise work in environmental management. Developed in close collaboration with port environmental managers and tested in a set of ports, it is a user-friendly tool that can be applied in approximately half a working day. It is based on ISO 14001 vocabulary and requirements and it can be considered as the base for the implementation of any Environmental Management System for port communities