Safety assessment model of coastal passenger vessel in the perspective of life jacket compatibility

Abstract

This research was conducted due to frequent occurrence of passenger vessel accidents related to the use of life jackets, which believed due to incompatibility between life jackets and passenger vessels. To address this problem, the research sets to develop a safety assessment model of coastal passenger vessel (CPV) in the perspective of life jacket’s compatibility, which is known as Life Jacket Compatibility Index (LCI) model. The main purpose of LCI model is to evaluate the life jacket’s compatibility with CPV. The LCI model was developed based on a combination of variables from four previous safety models. Compatibility was introduced as a new variable in the present model. The development of the LCI model started by mapping the variables from both life jacket model and passenger vessel safety combined model. Variables were selected based on the research criteria and used to develop the Life Jacket Compatibility Index (LCI) model. The LCI model was transformed into LCI Static and LCI Dynamic algorithms that are based on Fault Tree analysis approach. The LCI Static assesses the life jacket’s compatibility with CPV which is under the approved plan and number of passengers, while the LCI Dynamic assesses the same compatibility during CPV is in the operational mode. The LCI model’s accuracy was verified by using regression method and the results were further validated by case studies and sensitivity analyses. Results from LCI Static showed that the open-deck CPV Explorer 320 equipped with inherently buoyant life jackets has better compatibility (2.79) than closed-deck CPV Duta Pangkor 3 and Bahagia No. 1 (1.79 and 1.84 respectively). The LCI model was used to improve the safety performance of Bahagia No. 1. It was found that LCI Dynamic of the vessel can be improved by 3.4% when the number of passengers was reduced from 57 to 55. In conclusion, the newly developed LCI model is significant to assess and improve the safety of CPV.