Grid-based spatial congruency between VTSO gaze allocation and AIS-derived Environmental stress: An eye-tracking case study at Busan VTS

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The increasing complexity of maritime traffic has heightened the need to examine how Vessel Traffic Service operators (VTSOs) allocate visual attention during actual operations. This study evaluated the spatial and temporal congruency between geographically converted VTSO gaze and Automatic Identification System (AIS)-derived Environmental Stress (ES) in the Busan VTS area. Seven VTSOs participated in six paired 60min session blocks, comprising six sector assignments in Ch. 09 and six in Ch. 12. Gaze frequency and ES were integrated using 1 km × 1 km grids and consecutive 10min windows. High-risk coverage was defined as the proportion of High-ES cell-windows classified as High ES–High gaze (HH), while High ES–Low gaze (HL) represented potential gaze–risk mismatch. Pooled HH coverage was 13.52% in Ch. 09 and 33.77% in Ch. 12, while HL mismatch accounted for 86.48% and 66.23%, respectively. Ch. 12 showed higher session-mean HH coverage in all six paired session blocks, with a mean difference of 20.59 percentage points. HL mismatch occurred in all 36time windows in both sectors. These findings demonstrate sector dependent ES–gaze congruency and provide a quantitative basis for comparing traffic and navigational burden with VTSO visual attention.