Port of Coos Bay. Workshop Report
Abstract
The risk assessment process is a structured approach to obtaining expert judgments on the level of waterway risk. The process also addresses the relative merits of specific types of Vessel Traffic Management (VTM) improvements for reducing risk in the port. Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the port risk assessment process uses a select group of waterway users/stakeholders in each port to evaluate waterway risk factors and the effectiveness of various VTM improvements. The process requires the participation of local Coast Guard officials before and throughout the workshops. Thus the process is a joint effort involving the local maritime community and the agencies/entities responsible for implementing selected risk mitigation measures. This methodology employs a generic model of port risk that was conceptually developed by a National Dialog Group on Port Risk and then translated into computer algorithms by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. In that model, risk is defined as the sum of the probability of a casualty and its consequences. Consequently, the model includes variables associated with both the causes and the effects of vessel casualties. Because the risk factors in the model do NOT contribute equally to overall port risk, the first session of each workshop normally is devoted to obtaining expert opinion about how to weight the relative contribution of each variable to overall port risk. Due to time constraints, this was not done in Coos Bay. Rather, the workshop participants began by discussing the risks in Coos Bay, then they established scales to measure each variable in the port risk model. Once the parameters have been established for each risk-inducing factor, port-specific risk is estimated by putting into the computer risk model specific values for that port for each variable. The computer model allows comparison of relative risk and the potential efficacy of various VTM improvements between different ports.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 07, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA574299
Entities
Organizations
- United States Coast Guard Academy