GIS-based analysis on the spatial patterns of global maritime accidents

Based on the global maritime accident data from 2010 to 2019, density analysis and clustering analysis have been used to analyse the spatial patterns of maritime accidents in terms of accident frequency and severity. The North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea form low severity accident clustering. More than 60% accidents are found within the sea areas less than 30 nm to the coastline. As to the spatial characteristics of maritime accident severity, the coastal waters surrounding China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines, the Singapore-Malacca Strait and the Bay of Biscay form high severity accident clustering. The North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea form low severity accident clustering in the clustering analysis although they have medium and high densities of accident severity in the density analysis. Almost 60% of serious accidents and very serious accidents are found within 30 nm to the coastline. The comparison of the results of density analysis and clustering analysis indicate that the latter can provide more abundant spatial characteristic information, while the former is superior in terms of simplicity and computational efficiency. This study provides useful information to assist the relevant maritime authorities in improving maritime traffic management. •Spatial analysis of 2,513 worldwide maritime accidents from 2010 to 2019 based on the GISIS database.•Thorough literature review on the application of GIS in maritime fields.•Identification of hot spots of maritime accidents with considering and without considering ship traffic density.•Analysis and comparison of maritime accident severity spatial patterns using density analysis and clustering analysis.•Assessment on the navigational safety of coastal waters by calculating the proportion of maritime accidents of different severity levels within specific buffer zones.