A critique of the use of domain analysis for spatial collision risk assessment

Abstract Predicting the likelihood of maritime accidents is hindered by the relative sparsity of collisions on which to develop risk models. Therefore, significant research has investigated the capability of non-accident situations, near misses and encounters between vessels as a surrogate indicator of collision risk. Whilst many studies have developed ship domain concepts, few have considered the practical considerations of implementing this method to characterise navigational risk between waterways and scenarios. In order to address this, within this paper we implement and evaluate the capability and validity of domain analysis to characterise and predict the likelihood of ship collisions. Our results suggest that the strength of the relationship between collisions and encounters is varied both between vessel types and the spatial scale of assessment. In addition, we demonstrate some key practical considerations in utilising domain analysis to predict the change in collision risk, through a hypothetical wind farm. The outcomes of this study provide research direction for practical applications of domain analysis on collision risk assessments.