Document Type
Article Open Access
Publication Date
9-4-2012
Journal Title
WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs
Volume Number
11
Issue Number
2
First Page
151
Last Page
167
Abstract
The recent foundering of the Costa Concordia in January 2012 demonstrated
that accidents can occur even with ships that are considered masterpieces of
modern technology and despite more than 100 years of regulatory and technological
progress in maritime safety. The purpose of this paper is, however, not to speculate
about the concrete causes of the Costa Concordia accident, but rather to consider
some human and organizational factors that were present in the Costa Concordia
accident as well as in the foundering of the Titanic a century ago, and which can be
found in many other maritime accidents over the years. The paper argues that these
factors do not work in isolation but in combination and often together with other
underlying factors. The paper critically reviews the focus of maritime accident
investigations and points out that these factors do not receive sufficient attention. It
is argued that the widespread confidence in the efficacy of new or improved technical
regulations, that characterizes the recommendations from most maritime accident
investigations, has led to a lack of awareness of complex interactions of factors and
components in socio-technical systems. If maritime safety is to be sustainably
improved, a systemic focus must be adopted in future accident investigations.