An Advanced Risk Matrix Model for the Navigational Safety of Passenger-Cargo Ferries

Safety is argued to be one of the most critical issues for the sustainable development (SD) of transportation. Thus, the current paper aims to evaluate the risk of navigational safety for passenger-cargo ferries (PCFs). In doing so, the paper investigates risk factors (RFs) for navigational safety of PCFs based on pertinent research and ferries’ operational characteristics. After that, a Revised Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (RFAHP) is developed to estimate the priority weights of those RFs. Thanks to that, an advanced continuous risk matrix (ACRM) model is proposed to integrate the defensiveness of ferry operators (FOs) and then classifying RFs’ risk level. Lastly, PCF operators in Taiwan (hereafter Taiwan-PCFs case) are empirically investigated to validate the proposed research model. Results might provide practical information for PCF companies to boost their navigational safety. In addition, the proposed advanced risk matrix (ARM) can supply references for theoretical methodologies in risk assessment research.