Cruise shipping accidents in Asia: The trends, causal factors and implications

Since the ‘Titanic’ disaster in 1912, safety in cruising has attracted international concerns. A number of shipwrecks have highlighted high frequencies of human failures in the cruise industry over the last century. The safety regulations and ineffective cultures of safety reflected weaknesses on increasing risks of losing lives in cruise ship accidents, notably in Asia. The paper undertakes a critical review on the trends and causal factors in cruise ship accidents using information on marine casualties and incidents since 1912. It shows how human and organizational factors contribute to cruise shipping accidents and raises issues on how to develop comprehensive safety measures and policies in Asia, where the cruise industry is rapidly growing.