Insights into Passenger Vessel Accidents and Casualties in Bangladesh: A Characteristics Analysis

Abstract

The maritime safety of Bangladesh is significantly deteriorating due to recurrent passenger vessel accidents. This study is aimed to perform a comprehensive characteristics analysis of passenger vessel accidents during 2008 to 2022. The accident data is collected from Department of Shipping and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority. The analysis is performed by using Microsoft Excel and Geographical Information System (GIS) software, and the results are presented in graphical forms. The annual and month-wise distribution of accidents, accident types, involved vessel types, distribution of fatalities based on types of foundered vessels, location, and temporal distribution of accidents are analyzed in this study. The results indicate that accidents involving passenger vessels are responsible for 93.9% of overall fatalities due to maritime accidents in Bangladesh. Besides, during only four months i.e. February, March, May and December more than half of total fatalities involving passenger vessel accidents occur. Furthermore, collision is identified as the predominant cause of passenger vessel accidents and fatalities. Additionally, passenger launch is identified as the predominant type of passenger vessel responsible for significant proportion of accidents and fatalities. At the end of the study, several recommendations are proposed those are immensely imperative for mitigation of passenger vessel accidents in Bangladesh.