Implementation of Automatic Identification System (AIS) for Evaluation of Marine Traffic Safety in Strait of Malacca using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

The Strait of Malacca considered to be the busiest and is one of the world's most dangerous shipping lanes in the world because of its heavy traffic, narrowness, sharp turns, and many other critical factors. Therefore, maritime safety in the Strait of Malacca is an important issue. With a length of approximately 500 mi (800 km), the Strait of Malacca is the longest strait in the world used for international navigation. It forms the main seaway connecting the Indian Ocean with the China Sea and provides the shortest route for tankers shuttling between the Middle East and Asian countries. Therefore, this strait is the busiest shipping lane in the world. The principal aim of this study is to analyze the degree of safety in navigating the Strait of Malacca in terms of indices such as the danger score using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the automatic identification system (AIS) data. The objectives of International Maritime Organization (IMO) of implementing the AIS are to enhance the safety and efficiency of navigation, safety of life at sea,and protection of maritime environment. In this study, the AIS is used as a source of data and AHP is used for evaluating the danger score, the sum of the weighting factors determined by this method, for the Strait of Malacca.