risk management

Thesis: Towards enhanced safety in the age of autonomous shipping

Meriam Chaal, a member of the Kotka Maritime Research Centre’s research community, will defend her doctoral thesis on 11 January 2024 at Aalto University, in the field of marine technology. The opponent will be Professor Gerasimos Theotokatos, Director of the Maritime Safety Research Centre at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.

The thesis, titled “Advancing Safety in Autonomous Shipping Through Modern Hazard Analysis Methods: A System-Theoretic Approach”, consists of three scientific articles and a summary section.

Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) refer to vessels that rely on autonomous technologies for navigation, control, and operation. They utilize advanced sensors and communication technologies as well as machine learning and computer vision algorithms to perform various ship functions.

Autonomous vessels are expected to enhance maritime safety, ship energy efficiency, and the effectiveness of the logistics chain. “Autonomous ship systems are likely to play an increasingly important role in future shipping”, Meriam Chaal says. “The ongoing transition, however, introduces new safety challenges that necessitate rigorous risk assessment and innovative safety frameworks”, she continues.

In her thesis, Chaal first explores the historical development of risk, safety, and reliability considerations in autonomous shipping. Then, integrating a qualitative systemic hazard analysis technique (Systems Theoretic Process Analysis) with a quantitative systems and decision analysis method (Bayesian Network), she proposes and demonstrates a novel approach for conducting risk assessments of autonomous ship systems. The proposed approach is compatible with the most used maritime risk and safety assessment procedures. It supports identification of the unique risks and knowledge needs associated with autonomous navigation systems and enables evaluation and prioritization of alternative risk control measures.

“My thesis serves as a technical compass guiding the maritime industry towards enhanced safety in the age of autonomous shipping,” Meriam Chaal summarizes and continues: “As autonomy is transforming the maritime industry, the thesis contributes to setting up the foundations for standardized systems safety engineering for autonomous ships.”

Ms Chaal has conducted her thesis work as part of the Research Group on Safe and Efficient Marine and Ship Systems, led by Assistant Professor Osiris Valdez Banda, who also holds one of the Merikotka (KMRC) professorships.

The thesis summary can be downloaded from the Aaltodoc publication archive.

 

Written by: Annukka Lehikoinen

Doctoral thesis: A novel toolbox for risk management in maritime remote pilotage

Sunil Basnet, a member of the Kotka Maritime Research Centre’s research community, will defend his doctoral dissertation on 15 December 2023 at Aalto University in the field of marine technology. The opponent will be Professor Ioannis M. Dokas, from the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. Mr. Basnet has conducted his thesis work as part of the Research Group on Safe and Efficient Marine and Ship Systems, led by Assistant Professor Osiris Valdez Banda, who also holds one of the Merikotka (KMRC) professorships.

The thesis, “Managing risks in maritime remote pilotage using the basis of the Formal Safety Assessment”, consists of four scientific articles and a summary section. Pilotage is a safety service intended to prevent ship accidents, providing navigational assistance by experienced pilots who know the local conditions. Remote pilotage is a relatively new concept, in which the pilot assists the ship crew from a remote location at the shore.

”The idea behind remote pilotage is to improve both safety and cost-effectiveness of the operation”, Sunil Basnet tells. “However, the implementation requires adoption of novel data and information sharing technologies both on ships, fairways, and pilot stations. The entity becoming more complex, this may lead to new emergent risks, requiring updates also in the prevailing safety control system”, he continues.

The thesis of Mr. Basnet presents a novel, improved risk management framework that provides a systematic protocol with practical analysis tools, applicable to the modern remote pilotage systems. The framework is fully compatible with the Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) process developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), widely used in risk assessment and management in the context of maritime operations.

“This study lays strong and comprehensive foundations for effective risk management in the evolving field of remote pilotage, where there haven’t been existing risk management framework so far”, Sunil Basnet states and continues: “Method-wise, presenting a novel approach of integrating advanced systems modelling techniques, my thesis even fills some common gaps in the application of the Formal Safety Assessment. This is important for advancing the overall safety of maritime systems and operations.”

The public defense is organized 15.12.2023 at 12:00 – 16:00 in the address Otakaari 4, Espoo (auditorium 216). The event can be followed also online via Zoom.

The thesis summary can be downloaded from the Aaltodoc publication archive.

 

Written by: Annukka Lehikoinen

A road map for designing simulator-based oil spill response trainings published

The fourth report in the Kotka Maritime Research Centre publication series is out! Researchers and experts of the SIMREC project have today published a joint report titled as Designing effective simulator-based oil spill response trainings for improved performance, preparedness, and societal resilience. Based on the work conducted and lessons learned during the three-year project, the report provides information, tools and recommendations to support the design and construction of effective simulator-based oil spill response trainings for various teams.

If a major oil spill materializes on the Baltic Sea, it is of utmost importance that different ac­tors can, both nationally and internationally, join their forces and react fast and effectively to minimize its negative impacts to people and environment. The successful implementation of such complex multi-organizational processes under heavy time pressure is based on skilled and experienced operative teams. The development of such teams requires frequent joint exercises and training.

The report states that today’s bridge simulators can provide an effective, cost-effective, and safe envi­ronment for testing and practising various joint tasks related to oil spill management. Applied complementarily to authentic on-board exercises with real vessels, the authors suggest simulator-based training programmes bear strong potential for improving the oil spill response readiness of the Baltic Sea countries, thus also developing societal resilience against oil accidents.

The report is a joint effort of the researchers and experts from the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk), University of Helsinki, Aalto University, and Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). It is edited by Merikotka’s research director Annukka Lehikoinen. Project SIMREC has been led by Kotka Maritime Research Association and co-funded by the European Union together with the participating organizations.

Access the report by clicking the LINK.

 

Written by: Annukka Lehikoinen