The role of ship inspections in maritime accidents: An analysis of risk using the bow-tie approach

Ships are subject to inspections from different maritime stakeholders, such as port states, classification societies, shipowners, managers and operators. Each one implements their own inspection content depending on their role in the construction and operation phase of the vessel life cycle. Because few studies have investigated the influence of ship inspections on accidents, it is uncertain to which extent the current inspection regimes are contributing to reducing accidents. In addition, maritime risk analysis has, so far, not considered thoroughly the role of the inspection process in accident development. As a result, an improved understanding of the influence inspection methods would facilitate the implementation of effective measures for reducing accident probabilities or consequences. The approach used in this article involves identifying the underlying causes and the resulting consequences of accidents that may be associated with inspection issues and combining this knowledge in bow-tie representations. The developed bow-tie diagrams provide useful insights into the role of insufficient inspection practices in the development of maritime accidents and the severity of the resulting consequences. Furthermore, the developed diagrams may be used for investigating the risk from inspection issues by producing generic accident scenarios with every possible combination of the different parameters that describe all the possible pathways, from causes to consequences. Although this is a qualitative approach, it provides valuable insights into safety concerns that result from inspection practices and may also be used as a basis for further quantitative risk analysis.