Editorial for the First Edition of the Special Issue “Risk and Safety of Maritime Transportation”

1. Introduction

“Shipping is perhaps the most international of all the world’s great industries and one of the most dangerous.” [1]

The shipping industry represents one of the fundamental pillars of the global economy. Maritime transport accounts for approximately 90% of the world’s trade in goods [2], which makes maritime safety not only an operational priority but also a key element for the stability of global supply chains. At the same time, water transport is widely considered one of the most energy-efficient modes of transport, especially due to the high capacity of modern vessels, which are able to transport large volumes of cargo over long distances with relatively low energy consumption. This efficiency is further supported by the increasing use of more environmentally acceptable fuels and technologies [3]. However, the increasing focus on efficiency, especially after the pandemic, puts more pressure on maritime operations, making it difficult to maintain balance between efficiency and safety.

Safe navigation, from voyage planning to arrival at the port of destination, is influenced by numerous variables. Human error continues to be recognized as a dominant contributing factor, with estimates suggesting that 75% to 96% of marine accidents involve human error causes. The human factor is therefore considered a primary cause of accidents with impacts on health, life, property, and the marine environment. At the same time, adverse meteorological conditions, technical factors, and the increasing level of automation significantly interact with human performance and decision-making processes, further shaping maritime safety outcomes [4,5]. Even though new technologies have improved reliability, human-related risks are still present [6,7]. Maritime operations remain by nature complex and risky, requiring both technical and non-technical skills, where cognitive aspects such as attention, decision making, and perception of risk play a crucial role. As pointed out in [8], understanding the underlying causes of human error is more important than focusing only on the errors themselves.

Within the fast-changing and continuous maritime operational environment, even small mistakes can result in serious consequences, including loss of life, environmental damage, and disruptions to international trade. Several catastrophic accidents in recent years, such as the sinking of the container ship SS El Faro and the cargo ship Cemfjord, highlight the severe outcomes that may arise when multiple risk factors combine [9]. According to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a maritime accident is defined as “any marine casualty or marine incident,” excluding intentional acts [10]. In practice, accidents are rarely caused by a single factor but rather by a chain of events involving human, technical, and environmental elements.

Despite maritime transport being generally considered one of the safest modes of transport, the consequences of accidents can be significantly higher due to the large quantities of cargo transported and the scale of operations [11]. Furthermore, some human factors, such as fatigue, are not sufficiently reflected in official accident data, which raises questions about the quality of reporting systems and the reliability of safety assessments [12]. This indicates that there are still important gaps in understanding and managing risks in maritime operations. Maritime networks continue to play a key role in national and global development, serving as essential links between production areas, ports, and markets [13,14].

To address these gaps in the literature dealing with maritime safety and risks in this sector, the eighteen contributions included in this Special Issue were brought together. This Special Issue is dedicated to maritime safety and presents seventeen research articles and one systematic review, offering a comprehensive perspective on current challenges. The published works address theoretical and methodological approaches to risk assessment, structured frameworks for accident analysis, and quantitative models for navigational risk evaluation. Several contributions focus on human factors and safety management, aiming to better understand the interaction between human performance and technological systems. Others examine digitalization, decision support tools, emerging technologies, and regulatory and policy approaches to improving maritime safety.

Together, these works show that maritime safety cannot be addressed from a single perspective. They underline the need to connect different disciplines, combine theory with real-world practice, and move beyond isolated solutions in order to better understand and manage maritime risks. By integrating insights from human factors, technology, and organizational practices, the contributions provide a more comprehensive view of safety in maritime transport and support further development in this important field.

2. Overview of Published Articles

The eighteen contributions to this Special Issue reflect the multidimensional nature of maritime safety. All of them show that improving safety at sea requires attention not only to technology and regulation but also to human factor, organizational culture, and the wider regulatory environment.

Human factor, safety management, and organizational reliability form a strong core of the issue. Several studies developed structured tools aimed at reducing operational errors in high-risk environment. These include a Korean-specific safety checklist for small fishing vessels integrating SRK/SLMV, CREAM, and STPA methodologies (List of Contributions, 1) and a probabilistic assessment of human error during lifeboat drills using SLIM and Bayesian approaches (List of Contributions, 2). At the traffic management level, the impact of regulatory amendments and decision support systems on Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) operators is examined through FMEA, HEART, and event tree analysis (List of Contributions, 3), while large-scale speech recognition analysis of VTS communication introduces empirical benchmarks for advisory timing (List of Contributions, 4). A systematic review of evacuation challenges on large passenger vessels further highlights the behavioral and technological complexity of mass evacuation (List of Contributions, 5). These papers support a more proactive and structured approach to maritime safety and highlight the need for greater international harmonization.

Another group of papers focuses on quantitative risk assessment and hazard modeling. These papers use a range of analytical tools—such as bow-tie models, fault and event trees, logistic regression, Monte Carlo simulation, and fuzzy logic—to better understand accident causes and estimate their probability (List of Contributions, 6,7).

Risk modeling is further applied to specific contexts, including navigation in offshore wind farm areas (List of Contributions, 8), potential disaster scenarios in the Arctic and North Atlantic (List of Contributions, 9), and the integration of historical casualty data into the S-100 electronic navigational chart framework to support safer route planning (List of Contributions, 10).

Overall, these papers point to a clear movement toward more integrated, simulation-based frameworks that can better reflect the complexity and multi-causal nature of maritime accidents. Rather than analyze isolated factors, the proposed approaches attempt to capture the dynamic interactions between technical, human, and organizational elements. At the same time, the papers acknowledge ongoing challenges, particularly limited data availability and the lack of harmonized global databases, which restrict large-scale comparative analyses and the wider application of advanced modeling tools.

Digitalization and emerging technologies form another key element. Bibliometric and text-mining analyses identify dominant themes in fishing vessel and port safety research, emphasizing the growing role of IoT-based monitoring while acknowledging cybersecurity and cost constraints (List of Contributions, 11,12). The safety of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) is explored through system-theoretic and Delphi-based approaches, underscoring propulsion reliability, sensor fusion, communication integrity, and human–machine interaction as priority risk domains (List of Contributions, 13). In parallel, research on marine diesel engine lubricity examines component-level reliability and the operational implications of fuel dilution (List of Contributions, 14). These contributions reflect the transition toward cyber-physical resilience and increasingly autonomous systems, while stressing the urgency of regulatory adaptation and real-world validation.

Finally, several papers examine maritime safety in relation to broader policy and governance frameworks. Multi-criteria decision models assess institutional safety performance and resource optimization (List of Contributions, 15), while optimization models analyze fleet deployment under regulatory surcharge risk (List of Contributions, 16). Other studies address shadow fleet operations and their safety and environmental implications risk (List of Contributions, 17), as well as cross-sector risks emerging in shared maritime–aviation waterways risk (List of Contributions, 18). These perspectives broaden the understanding of safety as an outcome shaped not only by shipboard operations but also by regulatory efficiency, economic incentives, and geopolitical realities.

Overall, this Special Issue demonstrates that maritime safety is a systemic challenge. Progress depends on the integration of human-centered analysis, quantitative modeling, technological innovation, and effective governance across interconnected technical and institutional domains.

3. Conclusions and Future Perspectives

The works presented in this Special Issue have significantly advanced our understanding of maritime safety, offering insights that cover different aspects of risk, operations, and regulation. By combining theoretical frameworks, quantitative risk modeling, and applied methodologies, the published works provide practical tools to enhance safety in maritime operations. Eighteen works underscore that improving maritime safety requires an integrated, multi-dimensional approach that connects theory, practice, and policy. They offer valuable insights to guide operators, regulators, and researchers in enhancing human, technological, and organizational factors at sea. To further strengthen this field, a second edition of this Special Issue has already been launched, focusing on emerging challenges, advanced risk assessment methods, and issues related to causal factor identification and the general safety of maritime transportation.