Proactive Involvement of Local Population in Oil Spill Incidents: Gauging The Potential Of Informal Information Networks

The analysis of tanker accidents shows varied degrees and forms of involvement of local inhabitants at the different stages of specific events. The aim of the paper is to gauge, through a pilot survey, the potential of marine incident information networks among coastal or island populations within an accident setting. The authors review how reactions to tanker accidents of potentially affected populations may have an impact on the selection, design and implementation of the handling by the authorities of an evolving incident The paper argues that networks such as the Shore Awareness of Vessel Emergencies (S.A.V.E) proposed can eventually create a proactive mechanism to prevent chaotic reactions or disruption/distortion of the optimal response. A pilot survey was conducted to estimate population reactions to shipping accidents with a pollution risk and the willingness to participate in S.A.V.E type networks. The authors process data collected through questionnaires distributed to residents of a major maritime Greek island with a large number of active or retired seafarers. Questionnaire data are analyzed with an emphasis on gauging the degree of confidence in an unofficial but well-organized, network as S.A.V.E which would be based mainly on ad-hoc trained members from targeted parts of the local communities

A Critical Assessment of Human Element Regarding Maritime Safety

The paper presents the findings, derived from a structured questionnaire, that cover various aspects of the relation between human factor and maritime safety. In general, human element holds a very important share compared to the ensemble of marine-accident causes

SafePASS - Transforming marine accident response

The evacuation of a ship is the last line of defence against human loses in case of emergencies in extreme fire and flooding casualties. Since the establishment of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Maritime Safety is its cornerstone with the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) spearheading its relentless efforts to reduce risks to human life at sea. However, the times are changing. On one hand, we have the new opportunities created with the vast technological advances of today. On the other, we are facing new challenges, with the ever-increasing size of the passenger ships and the societal pressure for a continuous improvement of maritime safety. In this respect, the EU-funded Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme project SafePASS, presented herein, aims to radically redefine the evacuation processes, the involved systems and equipment and challenge the international regulations for large passenger ships, in all environments, hazards and weather conditions, independently of the demographic factors. The project consortium, which brings together 15 European partners from industry, academia and classification societies. The SafePASS vision and plan for a safer, faster and smarter ship evacuation involves: i) a holistic and seamless approach to evacuation, addressing all states from alarm to rescue, including the design of the next generation of life-saving appliances and; ii) the integration of ‘smart’ technology and Augmented Reality (AR) applications to provide individual guidance to passengers, regardless of their demographic characteristics or hazard (flooding or fire), towards the optimal route of escape

The development and demonstration of an enhanced risk model for the evacuation process of large passenger vessels

Evacuating a large and complex environment, such as a large passenger vessel, either cruise or RoPax, is a safety-critical task that involves thousands of people in motion and a complex decision-making process. Despite the significant enhancement of maritime safety over the years, various hazards still pose threats to passengers and crew. To deal with this reality, the SafePASS project radically redefines the evacuation process by introducing novel technological solutions. In this context, this paper presents, in detail, an enhanced risk model for the ship evacuation process in order to facilitate the understanding of the actual risks of the process in fire and flooding accidents, and to assess various risk control measures and options toward risk mitigation. The risk model covers the entire event sequence in emergency cases on board, until the survival at sea phase, and it is constructed in two levels, following a combination of event tree analysis and Bayesian networks. Results show the risk corresponds to baseline scenarios for each accident case, which are also verified by relevant IMO and EMSA studies, and an example case of risk control option (RCO) is introduced to the model to demonstrate its ability to assess RCO’s efficiency in terms of risk reduction

The development and demonstration of an enhanced risk model for the evacuation process of large passenger vessels

Evacuating a large and complex environment, such as a large passenger vessel, either cruise or RoPax, is a safety-critical task that involves thousands of people in motion and a complex decision-making process. Despite the significant enhancement of maritime safety over the years, various hazards still pose threats to passengers and crew. To deal with this reality, the SafePASS project radically redefines the evacuation process by introducing novel technological solutions. In this context, this paper presents, in detail, an enhanced risk model for the ship evacuation process in order to facilitate the understanding of the actual risks of the process in fire and flooding accidents, and to assess various risk control measures and options toward risk mitigation. The risk model covers the entire event sequence in emergency cases on board, until the survival at sea phase, and it is constructed in two levels, following a combination of event tree analysis and Bayesian networks. Results show the risk corresponds to baseline scenarios for each accident case, which are also verified by relevant IMO and EMSA studies, and an example case of risk control option (RCO) is introduced to the model to demonstrate its ability to assess RCO’s efficiency in terms of risk reduction

A Critical Assessment of Human Element Regarding Maritime Safety

The paper presents the findings, derived from a structured questionnaire, that cover various aspects of the relation between human factor and maritime safety. In general, human element holds a very important share compared to the ensemble of marine-accident causes

Numerical and experimental investigation into the dynamics of a bubble-free-surface system

The aim of the present work is to study the interaction between an oscillating bubble and a free surface. We perform a series of experiments and numerical simulations and attempt to characterize both early and late stages of the interaction. The focus is on providing insight into the mechanisms of bubble-induced atomization. For this reason, we are particularly interested in characterizing the patterns and dynamics of the liquid jets that are formed at the free surface. Observations regarding the evolution of the free surface are presented by measuring the jet\u27s surface area and volume. Finally, based on these quantities, we introduce a metric that may be used to characterize the liquid jetting and predict whether late-time atomization of the interface will occur