<p>Although the term maritime safety is widely used in the maritime domain, there is no exact definition of what is included in it. This thesis is an explorative study with focus on the Vessel Traffic Service domain. VTS operators were interviewed and observed to gain insights in how maritime safety is constructed from the perspective of an operator. Further, definitions of maritime safety by central organizations in the maritime domain have been studied through a literature study and several interviews.</p><p>The results of the study indicate that there is no common definition of the term maritime safety. The organizations generally identify maritime safety as an overall goal or an umbrella term for measures such as traffic separation schemes or fairway design etc. In contrast to this, the analysis of the data obtained indicates that VTS operators define maritime safety as a context-dependent condition which is shaped by their own action.</p><p>It is concluded that there is a gap between the central actors’ and the VTS operators’ understanding and definition of maritime safety. To increase the overall safety in the maritime domain, there is the need to overcome this gap through constructing common values, norms and identities. Instead of having several definitions of maritime safety, there should be one definition which can capture the fact of safety being a dynamic condition which is shaped by the enactment of reliability through, in this case, the VTS operators.</p><p>Finally, the VTS as service to the maritime community should be seen as the subject in the construction and promotion of maritime safety, not as just an object.</p>

The performance of Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) depends upon not only the facilities but the training and operational competence of the VTS operators. In this research, the current status and training scheme of four major VTS ports are reviewed. A fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model is subsequently developed to evaluate the training effectiveness of the VTS operators. The approach proposed enables experts to linguistically express opinions with degrees of truth of which the relationships are continuous. This solves the mapping problems between linguistic terms and discrete numerals resulting from traditional AHP methods. Four hierarchies comprising the factors of goals, competence, modules and subjects are constructed. The weights and priority of the elements for each hierarchy are acquired. The Grey Interval Measure method is also applied to analyze the training effectiveness and competence of the VTS operators by calculating the upper and lower bounds of the VTS-operator evaluations. The operational competence of VTS operators is judged by the experts invited. Finally, the interrelationships between the performance and the background indices are appreciated and the alternatives enhancing the performance of the VTS operators are identified. The measures include the recruitment of personnel with higher educational and professional backgrounds and enhancement of the professional trainings for the existing employees. The subjects of the training are also identified in this study. The contents and course hours should be appropriately organized and more attentions should be paid to the topics with higher weights. If the consistency with regard to the training schemes for the four VTS ports can be enhanced to a certain level, the quality of the VTS performance in Taiwanese waters will be increased. The marine safety will also be improved and marine environmental pollutions will be reduced.

Although the term maritime safety is widely used in the maritime domain, there is no exact definition of what is included in it. This thesis is an explorative study with focus on the Vessel Traffic Service domain. VTS operators were interviewed and observed to gain insights in how maritime safety is constructed from the perspective of an operator. Further, definitions of maritime safety by central organizations in the maritime domain have been studied through a literature study and several interviews. The results of the study indicate that there is no common definition of the term maritime safety. The organizations generally identify maritime safety as an overall goal or an umbrella term for measures such as traffic separation schemes or fairway design etc. In contrast to this, the analysis of the data obtained indicates that VTS operators define maritime safety as a context-dependent condition which is shaped by their own action. It is concluded that there is a gap between the central actors’ and the VTS operators’ understanding and definition of maritime safety. To increase the overall safety in the maritime domain, there is the need to overcome this gap through constructing common values, norms and identities. Instead of having several definitions of maritime safety, there should be one definition which can capture the fact of safety being a dynamic condition which is shaped by the enactment of reliability through, in this case, the VTS operators. Finally, the VTS as service to the maritime community should be seen as the subject in the construction and promotion of maritime safety, not as just an object.

The Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) is a complex system tasked with ensuring the safety of navigation within specified areas known as VTS areas. Earlier research in the domain has often focused on the decision support systems and other tools employed by the VTS operators to provide the vessels in the area with VTS services. Consequently, less effort has gone into looking at the system itself and the human factors aspects of the system. This study uses the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) to create a functional model of the VTS. It looks at how a VTS works, what the different components are and how these components are related. The main purpose of the FRAM model is to serve as a basis for future application by identifying the functions that constitute the system, and to illuminate the potential variability therein. To demonstrate how it might be used, an instantiation of an observed scenario will be presented. A structural description of the VTS is also presented, which aims to serve as an introduction to the domain for readers who are previously unfamiliar with it. The functional model shows that a lot of the potential variability seems to lie in the functions that rely heavily on human interaction, which is to be expected, as human performance is highly variable. It also shows that the availability and reliability of relevant information is crucial in order to be able to provide the VTS services, and if the information for some reason is unavailable or insufficient it seems likely to cause variability.