Formal safety assessment of cargo ships at coasts and open seas of Turkey

This paper presents an evaluation of Formal Safety Assessment framework for cargo ships at coasts and open seas of Turkey. Based on Turkish Under secretariat of Maritime Affairs casualty reports, this study identifies risk factors that have significant, independent effects upon the likelihood of ship and offshore operations. A case study is carried out to determine the most common causes of unintentional damages on cargo ships using FSA. It is obvious that shortage of skilled crew and crew training become very important for safety. This would require a compulsory course related to the human functions such as knowledge of regulations and use of equipment. Finally, some conclusions and suggestions are drawn concerning the needs to reduce the risks and to improve certain safety measures at coasts and open seas of Turkey.