A common interest of all shipping industry stakeholders is safe and accident-free shipping. To reach that goal, one of the most important actions that can be done is to analyze previous marine accidents. It means finding causes of accidents and, based on the analysis results, implementing effective corrective measures that can help reduce such undesired events in the future and improve safety efforts in shipping. Since it is widely accepted that human error accounts for 80–85% of all marine accidents, the research was focused on the human factor analysis in marine accidents. In this paper, 135 marine accident reports recorded in the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) database from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed. The analysis aimed to categorize causal factors and discover the ones that are the most common. The Human Factor Analysis and Classification System for Maritime Accidents (HFACS-MA) method was used to be able to do so. Furthermore, multiple linear regression was used to determine the relationship between the number of accidents and the most common HFACS-MA causal factors. The research revealed that the causes of marine accidents are primarily dependent on two human factor categories and confirmed that by influencing those human factors categories, the number of marine accidents could be reduced and shipping safety improved in general.

Increased international awareness of growing global air pollution issues resulted in adoption of measures necessary to reduce ships’ emissions into the atmosphere. The MARPOL convention with 1997 Protocol amendments included a new Annex VI which for the first time regulates harmful compounds emitted from ships on international voyages. The Parties of the 1997 Protocol have incorporated the MARPOL convention regulations within their own national legislation., An International Air Pollution Prevention (IAPP) certificate is issued to ships flying their flag by a recognized organization/classification society. The IAPP certificate serves as proof of a ship’s compliance with these regulations, thus assuring a ships’ seaworthiness. This paper summarises the most important provisions of Annex VI as applied to air pollutants from marine diesel engines, namely nitrogen and sulphur oxides, particulate matter and carbon dioxide. Recent studies proved that once adopted, Annex VI regulations have positive effect on the reduction of air pollution from ships. The Annex VI regulations present a major challenge and obligation to stakeholders in the shipping industry. Marine diesel engines are the most common choice to propel merchant ships compared with competitive alternatives. Engine manufacturers are particularly affected, as these regulations have necessitated the development of cleaner marine diesel engines and additional innovative technological solutions.

Along with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United States Maritime Administration has developed its own ballast water management legislation under the dual authority of the US Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency. The IMO and US ballast water management regulations are globally recognized as the most significant and influential regimes. Complexity and certain regulatory differences pose considerable concern amongst all stakeholders in the shipping industry, predominantly ship owners and ship operators. This paper presents a conceptual study which overviews, emphasises, and compares key provisions of these two sets of regulations by targeting and unveiling significant points from their perspective since they represent the largest group of stakeholders. Therefore, the paper aims to support shipowners and operators in better understanding the Ballast Water Management regulations and their differences. In addition, the study may benefit in choosing an adequate ballast water treatment system to be installed onboard ships, considering the sea areas where ships intend to operate. Finally, the paper can also help policy makers understand those differences that could present a major barrier in the efficient and smooth ballast water management implementation.

In recent years, many industries have adopted technology and digital systems to automate, expedite and secure specific processes. Stakeholders in maritime transport continue to exchange physical documents in order to conduct business. The monitoring of supply chain goods, communication among employees, environmental sustainability and longevity control, along with time framing, all create challenges to many industries. Everyday onboard work, such as cargo operations, navigation and various types of inspections in shipping, still requires paper documents and logs that need to be signed (and stamped). The conversion of traditional paper contracts into smart contracts, which can be digitalized and read through automation, provides a new wave of collaboration between eco systems across the shipping industry. Various data collected and stored on board ships could be used for scientific purposes. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) could be used to collect all those data and improve shipping operations by process expediting. It could eliminate the need to fill in various documents and logs and make operations safer and more environmentally friendly. Information about various important procedures onboard ships could be shared among all interested stakeholders. This paper considers the possible application of distributed ledger technology as an aid for the control of overboard discharge of wastewater from commercial ships. The intended outcome is that it could help protect the environment by sending data to relevant stakeholders in real time, thus providing information regarding the best discharge areas. The use of a structured communal data transference would ensure a consistent and accurate way to transmit data to all interested parties, and would eliminate the need to fill in various paper forms and logs. Wastewater overboard discharges would be properly monitored, recorded and measured, as distributed ledger technology would prevent any possibility of illegal actions and falsification of documents, thus ensuring environmental sustainability.

Ballast water is recognized as a major vector for the transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens (HAOP) and a source of sea pollution that negatively affects the environment and human health. Therefore, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) in 2004. The BWM Convention introduced two standards, Ballast Water Exchange Standard (Regulation D-1) and Ballast Water Performance Standard (Regulation D-2). Ships are required to install Ballast Water Treatment (BWT) equipment in order to comply with Regulation D-2. However, the deadline for the installation of BWT is prolonged until September 2024, and many ships are still complying only with Regulation D-1. In addition, there are specific sea areas where Regulation D-1 cannot be complied with, and hence, HAOP could be easily transferred between ports. Consequently, it is essential to develop a system to protect the marine environment, human health and economy in coastal areas from the introduction of HAOP. This paper analyses ballast water discharged in the Port of Ploče (Croatia) according to ship type, age and flag they are flying. It was found that general cargo ships and bulk carriers discharged most of the ballast (87% of the total quantity) in the Port of Ploče. Moreover, discharged ballast water was analysed according to the origin, and it was found that 70% of discharged ballast originates from the Adriatic Sea. Based on the analysis of the research results and literature review, the ballast water risk assessment (BWRA) method was adopted, however, with certain modifications. The adopted method is modified by an additional risk factor (the deballasting ship’s age), different risk scoring of the deballasting ship type and adding Paris MoU Grey and Black lists flag ships as high-risk ships. As a result, the BWRA method presented in the paper could be used as an early warning system and to facilitate the implementation of adequate measures to prevent pollution by discharged ballast water.