Determinants of crew injuries in vessel accidents

This study investigates determinants of the number of non-fatal crew injuries, fatal crew injuries and missing crew in freight ship, tanker and tugboat vessel accidents based upon individual accidents investigated by the US Coast Guard for the 1991-2001 period. Poisson and negative binomial regression estimates suggest that: (1) freight ship and tanker non-fatal injuries are higher when the vessel is moored or docked and during high winds and cold temperatures; (2) tugboat non-fatal injuries are higher during poor visibility; (3) freight ship fatal injuries increase with vessel age and tanker and tugboat fatal injuries are higher for fire and capsize accidents, respectively; and (4) freight ship missing crew increase with vessel age and tugboat missing crew are higher for fire and lake accidents.