Maritime accidents in New Zealand from 2015 to 2018: revealing recommendations from statistical review

Based on summary information concerning approximately 1600 maritime accidents that occurred from April 2015 to March 2018 in New Zealand, the distribution and correlation of maritime accidents in relation to three factors, namely, ship group, water area and season, was analysed using grey relational analysis, and percentage analysis was used to indicate accident type distribution. In terms of accident occurrence, foreign non‐passenger ships and domestic fishing vessels ≥ 6 m showed a stronger correlation than other ship groups, port areas were areas of greater risk than other water zones, and spring showed the highest seasonal correlation. Structural or mechanical failure and injury were the two predominant types of maritime accidents. In response to these findings, various recommendations concerning compliance enforcement and future regulatory design are proposed, particularly for improved auditing and inspection procedures.