Application of the IMO taxonomy on casualty investigation: Analysis of 20 years of marine accidents along the North-East Passage

• Published in: Marine Policy
• Main Authors: Fedi, Laurent, Faury, Olivier, Etienne, Laurent, Cheaitou, Ali, Rigot-Muller, Patrick
• Other Authors: KEDGE Business School Marseille, Métis Lab EM Normandie, École de Management de Normandie (EM Normandie), Knowledge Learning and Information Modelling (LABISEN-KLAIM), Laboratoire ISEN (L@BISEN), Institut supérieur de l'électronique et du numérique (ISEN)-YNCREA OUEST (YO)-Institut supérieur de l'électronique et du numérique (ISEN)-YNCREA OUEST (YO), University of Sharjah (UoS), National University of Ireland Maynooth (Maynooth University)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: Arctic navigation; Maritime accidents; Risk analysis; IMO Casualty Investigation Code; Polar Code; [SHS.GESTION]Humanities and Social Sciences/Business administration; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Global warming; North East Passage; Northeast Passage
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04483233; https://hal.science/hal-04483233/document; https://hal.science/hal-04483233/file/pre-print-jpmo.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106061

International audience In the context of global warming and ice melting in the Arctic Ocean, maritime activities have significantly increased over recent years. However, the Arctic remains a wild and risky region where marine accidents regularly occur. Despite the difficulty in compiling relevant data on Arctic shipping casualties, we have identified 156 accidents along the NorthEast Passage (NEP) over the last twenty years. Following a data-driven approach, we combine multiple sources and use the standardized International Maritime Organization (IMO) taxonomy on casualty investigation. We disclose and classify the concerned cases by severity level, cause, age, and type of vessels. We draw the profile of the vessels with the highest accidentology level, ascertain the high-risk areas and the seasons with the highest accident rate. Our results stress that serious casualties represent the largest part of the accidents occurring in this area. Fishing vessels show the highest accident rate, and machinery issues are one of the most common accident types. Furthermore, the NEP accidentology during the last two decades does not seem to decline unlike the downward trend elsewhere around the globe. Finally, we call for greater reporting of marine accidents and compliance with the IMO risk classification to better understand accidentology in this growing shipping zone. A plea in favor of stricter enforcement of the Polar Code and a holistic risk-based policy combining mandatory and non-mandatory measures are notably suggested to prevent casualties in the near future.