ABSTRACT
Many studies show that humans contribute to accidents, but research rarely addresses all the accidents that are avoided thanks to human capabilities. Today there is an interest in autonomous vessels and automation within shipping, often with arguments for safety and efficiency. Research from other domains suggests that automation can have unintended side-effects. Instead of increasing safety, automation may undermine people’s ability to understand the situation and make decisions, introducing new risks to the processes. To conclude that the frequency of accidents will be reduced proportionally to the people removed from the system neglects the dynamics of the socio-technical system and the positive human impact on maritime safety. Although shipping around Åland is not free of accidents and incidents, the system has a very good safety performance. The main purpose of the analysis is to analyze human impact on safe operation and performance exemplified by the vessels in Åland’s ferry lines.
