Accident reports
Accident reports are categorized as a secondary source of data,
in which the reports are prepared from the primary data that the
investigator obtained first-hand by interviewing the operators
and analyzing the evidence, normally short time after an accident
(Mazaheri et al., 2013b). In maritime safety analysis, the official
accident reports that are prepared by the accident investigation
boards usually present valuable information regarding why and
how an accident happens. For this study, we have utilized 73
grounding accident reports from the Safety Investigation
Authority of Finland (SIAF) and 42 reports from the Marine
Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) of the UK, which both of
the sources are freely accessible for the public.
Although more systematic analysis and attention toward the
organizational contribution factors can be seen in the recent
reports of SIAF, the structures of the reports are more or less the
same. They are all started with a summary, which briefly explains
the event and the findings of the investigators. The reports
continue with general description of the vessel, external condition
at the time of the accident, and then the accident and the possible
performed rescue operations. These are followed by the analysis of
the accident and the causes. At the end, the reports are mostly
concluded by presenting the causal chain of events and the
underlying factors in the accident, as well as some recommendations
to improve maritime safety. The parts that are fully reviewed
for this study are summaries, analyses, and the conclusions.
However, for some of the reports, other parts are also browsed in
order to better understand the accident and the connection of
the causal events.
Almost the same approach and structure was taken by MAIB.
The reports started with synopsis of the event and the factual
information about the accident. They are continued with analysis
of the accident and conclusion of the analysis. Then the performed
actions by different organizations following the accident are
presented and the final recommendation by the investigators
concludes the reports. The parts in MAIB reports that are fully
reviewed for this study are synopsis, analysis, and conclusion.