Catastrophic maritime accidents still occur as demonstrated by the Costa Concordia accident despite great efforts to reduce their likelihood and consequences. Vessels are gradually increasing in size and speed, as well as being involved in higher traffic volumes, particularly in narrowing waters, such as ports (Liu et al., 2005). Consequently, marine accidents happen more likely in such waters causing extensive loss of lives, damage to vessels and cargo, and serious marine pollution. Regarding the marine pollution, Cho (2007) stated that the maritime accidents caused serious marine pollution over a large area of southern coastal water in Korea as well as damage to the fisheries.
The fact that Korea is surrounded by water has contributed to the development of its international trade. This has led to an increase of maritime traffic in ports and their associated narrow waters, which will affect port and maritime navigational safety. Evidence shows that among 882 marine accidents occurred from 2002 to 2008 in Korean waters, approximately one-fifth occurred in ports (Korea Coast Guard, 2008). It is therefore urgent to identify the factors influencing port safety and evaluate the navigational safety levels of Korean ports.