Human factor in maritime accidents and related analyzing methods: A bibliometric review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33175/mtr.2026.285640Keywords:
Bibliometric analysis; Human factor; Human reliability; Maritime accidentAbstract
Although there has been significant progress in technology, the human factor remains a key contributor to marine accidents. To shed light on the academic perspective regarding the marine accident-human factor pairing, this study aims to clarify and present intellectual structure via bibliometric analysis. Furthermore, a detailed investigation was implemented using the studies from the last 5 years to better understand emerging trends for the human factor in marine accidents. The results reveal that China and Türkiye are the most productive countries in this field and that institutions and authors from these countries are at the forefront. Especially in recent years, it has been observed that the ‘autonomous ship’ phenomenon has attracted great attention and has become one of the trending topics. In addition to bibliometric analysis, methodological trends were identified by analyzing relevant studies from the last five years. The findings indicate that statistical methods, Bayesian networks, fuzzy logic, SLIM, and HFACS are the most commonly employed methodologies. It is also found that there is a significant trend towards adopting hybrid approaches that integrate different methods to provide more comprehensive and reliable assessments. By combining bibliometric and systematic content analyses, this study clarifies the intellectual structure of the field and highlights current methodological trends.
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Cite this article:
APA Style:
Cinar, F., Kaya, C., Akyuz, E., & Demirel, H. (2026). Human factor in maritime accidents and related analyzing methods: A bibliometric review. Maritime Technology and Research, 8(4), 285640. https://doi.org/10.33175/mtr.2026.285640
MDPI Style:
Cinar, F.; Kaya, C.; Akyuz, E.; Demirel, H. Human factor in maritime accidents and related analyzing methods: A bibliometric review. Marit. Technol. Res. 2026, 8, 285640. https://doi.org/10.33175/mtr.2026.285640
Vancouver Style:
Cinar F, Kaya C, Akyuz E, Demirel H. (2026). Human factor in maritime accidents and related analyzing methods: A bibliometric review. Marit. Technol. Res. 8(4):285640. https://doi.org/10.33175/mtr.2026.285640
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Highlights
- A bibliometric analysis is conducted for the role of human factor in maritime accidents.
- A detailed evaluation of studies of the last 5 years is performed.
- China and Türkiye are the most productive countries in the field.
- Bayesian Networks are determined to be the most widely used methodology in the papers.
- The ‘autonomous ship’ phenomenon has attracted great attention in recent years.
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