Research Methodology

The study of the causes of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River was qualitative research. In order to collect data to be covered all causes of accidents, the procedure was as follows: making research operation plan, retrieving basic information in the scope areas, determining participants, studying related studies, reviewing how to get to the areas, developing interview form and testing the interview form, getting to the scope areas to collect data by using in-depth interview with the key informants who were selected by purposive sampling method, analyzing data, making data report, interpreting the data by using content analysis, and presenting the results in descriptive analysis (Figure 1).

The Results of the Study

The Causes of Accidents in Water Transportation in the Chao Phraya River

The data were analyzed by considering mutual variables of the causes of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River such as strong current, hitting other ships, hitting objects, and so on. The data were retrieved from the Marine Department, Ministry of Transport, consisting of accident information in the Chao Phraya River and Pasak River in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province during 2007 to 2018. The results revealed that the causes of accidents in water transportation the highest frequent cause was the ship control problem including losing control and losing balance because of the current or the other ship passing by. The other causes of the accident were the strong current, leaking, hitting objects, hitting bridge piles, and overloading passengers. These factors cause various levels of accidents including sinking or hitting other ships. The results of the causes of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River were shown in Table 1 as follows:

Table 1 The Causes of Accidents in Water Transportation in The Chao Phraya River 2007 – 2018
Causes	Year												Total (number)	Percentage	Accumulated Percent
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Ship Control	0	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	7	41.18	41.18
Strong Current	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	23.53	64.71
Leaking	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	11.76	76.47
Hitting objects	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	5.88	82.35
Hitting Bridge Pile	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5.88	88.24
Overloading	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5.88	94.12
Other (Bollard Off)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5.88	100
Total     (per year)	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	1	1	2	1	1	17	100

The statistics of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River were retrieved from Marine Department, Ministry of Transport, during 2007 to 2018, and the data were presented in Pareto Chart in Figure 2 as follows:

(PARETO V. F. D (1848)

Figure 2 revealed the causes of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River during 12 years (2007 - 2018). The statistics of the causes of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River were analyzed by using percentage and accumulated percentage. The results showed that the most serious causes of accidents were ship control (41.18%) followed by strong current (23.53%), and leaking (11.76). The other 4 causes consisting of hitting objects, hitting bridge piles, overloading, and other (bollard off) were similar in percentage of occurrence (5.88%). That made the accumulated percentage up to 100%.

These aforementioned causes affected water transportation in the Chao Phraya River in various aspects including late shipping, higher cost, affecting the environment, and causing water pollution.

Problems and Difficulties of Water Accidents in the Chao Phraya River

The results from the in-depth interview with the key informants namely involvers who were public sectors and private sectors including freight companies were plotted in Ishikawa Diagram (Fish Bone Diagram). The problems with the causes and consequences were analyzed in the diagram to show the relationship between Problem and Possible Cause (Figure 3).

Factors Affecting Water Transportation System the Chao Phraya River

The results from the data analyses of the causes of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River can divide problems and difficulties of water transportation in the Chao Phraya River into 4 factors (i.e. both internal and external factors) as follows:

(1) Man: The problems that were caused by Man were from the lack of experiences and skills of the sailor, the unfamiliar to the route in the river, the lack of consciousness, reckless, the inability to making decision, and restless that made the personnel not ready to work.

(2) Machine: The problems concerning Machine in this study referred to the ship itself that was not ready before the operation. The problems were caused by improper maintenance, the old physical condition of the ship, non-registered ship, no annual check, no safety equipment, and the safety equipment had no maintenance and made them not ready to use without fixing or changing.

(3) Method: The method problems were overloading both goods and passengers that easily caused accidents. In the flood season, the problem of hitting bridge piles easily occurred. Therefore, the process of connecting to the near port should be prepared so that the ship would not block the route or intrude into the residences around the river.

(4) Environment: The problems that were mostly found were due to weather including storms, strong current, high and low water levels that caused difficulties in ship control. Therefore, the sailors should consult the Meteorological Department to increase safety in shipping. The sailor should also avoid facing natural disasters in order to reduce the accidents in water transportation.

These factors were the internal and external causes of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River that affected the economic system, investment, fishery, environment, and ecosystem in all rivers that connected to the Chao Phraya River.

Guidelines for Accident Prevention and Reduction of Water Transportation in the Chao Phraya River

The guidelines for accident prevention and reduction of water transportation in the Chao Phraya River were as follows:

(1) Traffic surveillance systems and communication systems must be improved in order to take control over traffic in the river and increase safety in the areas. For example, there should be radio communication systems among ships that pass by each other on the curve of the river so that in case of an accident occurs, the ships will be able to contact the security sector immediately. Moreover, surveillance camera systems should be installed at the risky areas or the important ports.

(2) There should be patrol boats and more investigators in the risky areas. Moreover, the freighter and ships should follow the rules and regulation strictly and cooperate on the inspection at the ports. Safety equipment should also be installed to be ready for rescue in emergency cases.

(3) Ship quality control and personnel qualification measurement should be more strict to the rules and regulations. Goods and passengers overloading must be strictly punished in order to reduce the risk and reduce the level of the accidents especially in flood season. There should be publicizing and training for personnel and workers to raise their awareness in safety and increase their knowledge about safety practice in water transportation.

(4) Security equipment should be installed; for example, a control system for getting on and off port, signs or publication that show direction of the route and explain practice during taking the ships such as always wear life jacket at the port.

(5) Personnel or workers should get continuous training on sailing, towing, and goods carrying to increase their skills and capability. They should also study the route for towing and shipping and study the behavior that leads to accidents so that they can avoid doing it. The practice for emergency cases should be held so that personnel and workers can rescue victims in time following the correct protocol from the Marine Department, Ministry of Transport.

Discussion

The results of the study showed the causes of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River and guidelines for accident prevention and reduction of water transportation. The results revealed that the causes of accidents in water transportation were from various factors including from workers (e.g. ship sailor & boatswain), ship structure, and physical condition of the ships, ship equipment, and shipping method. Moreover, there were external environmental incidents including weather, current, high and low water level, downstream routes, and the wide and devious appearance of the Chao Phraya River.

The guidelines for accident prevention and reduction of water transportation were by providing personnel or workers continuous training on the operation and method, checking ships continuously, controlling weight of cargo and passengers, installing safety systems and tracking systems. For external factors, the personnel or workers should check weather, current, water levels, and the wide and devious appearance of the Chao Phraya River to avoid accidents in water transportation.

This results were consistent to the previous study on the risk analysis of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River and Pasak River, Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya Province (Reantongchai, 2015), safety management of personnel: case study of a crossing ferry company (Kuntee, 2016), and the study of safety model scheme in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River and Pasak River, Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya Province (Yamuang, 2016). The results of the studies also influenced the economic system of Thailand and the investment in industries and services. Furthermore, it helps reduce water pollution in the Chao Phraya River as well.

Body of Knowledge (Diagram with Description)

The body of Knowledge from the Study of the Causes of Water Transportation Accidents in the Chao Phraya River focused on the cooperation between the involvers including freight company, personnel and workers, freight managers, and public and private sectors. The body of Knowledge of this study was retrieved from lesson learning, experiences, and related studies and presented in the Fishbone Diagram and Pareto Chart. The results were described by using descriptive analysis so that it can be further easily transferred to the freight companies, people who receive water transportation services, and other involvers. Additionally, it will raise the safety awareness in water transportation and notify the process of shipping preparation to prevent and reduce accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River.

Conclusion

The causes of the accidents were analyzed from various factors that affected accidents in water transportation. The results of the study showed that there were various factors that caused accidents including the lack of experiences and lack of skills and capability in operation. There were also uncontrollable and unexpected causes such as unstable weather, strong current, and downstream routes that were wide and devious resulting in the ease of accidents occurring in the Chao Phraya River. Some accidents were so serious as they took huge damage to properties and lives such as sinking, sticking to shallow areas, hitting river banks where there were people around, and so on. Sometimes, it intruded into the personal household or responsible areas of the Marine Department. Consequently, the ship cannot move on and block the shipping route. Therefore, there should be safety protocol to deal with the emergency cases that can always happen. The safety protocol in water transportation can include the determination of the effective safety measurement such as always checking and maintaining facilities and safety equipment including warning systems such as alarming systems, life jacket, loops, and so on. The safety rules and regulations should be more strict especially in the high risk areas with the continuous training to raise the safety awareness in water transportation for public and private sectors to prevent accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River. For the accident reduction, there must be up to date plans for accident prevention and solution. Moreover, traffic tracking and communication stations should be developed to effectively control traffic in water transportation and increase security in the areas. Patrol boats and more investigators in the risky areas should be added for the more effective investigation on ship and personnel quality control. Overloading ships should be punished to reduce the risk and the levels of damage. Personnel or workers should get continuous training. The freight company should raise the safety awareness by installing safety equipment and facilities and showing signs to publicize directions and practice during the operation. The operators and workers should follow the safety rules and regulations such as always wearing a life jacket, use the rescue equipment correctly, and even make marks or signs to show where safety equipment is placed at the risky areas such as at the curve or narrow route.

Suggestion and Recommendation

Suggestion and Recommendation for this Study

Workers, namely sailors and boatswains, should check the readiness, physical condition, and ship structure before the shipping operation in order to reduce the risks of accidents in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River.

The ship controllers should study water routes, check weather, water level, and current thoroughly before the shipping operation.

In order to improve safety in water transportation in the Chao Phraya River, there should be a concise measurement for checking passenger and cargo loading to avoid overloading that is considered the most serious risk of accidents in water transportation.

For the safety in water transportation, there should be clear traffic signs to support the mutual use for many ships together in the Chao Phraya River. Moreover, surveillance cameras should be installed in all risky routes.

In case of emergency or dangerous situation in water transportation, it must be immediately informed to the involvers. Communication system and tracking system must be installed in the freighter properly for the highest safety.

Suggestion and Recommendation for the Future Study

The accident in water transportation can be focused case by case as a case study to get in-depth information for the clearer picture of each case.

The towage process of bulk cargo or freighter should be studied and analyzed, and the guidelines for problem solving developed from sailor and boatswain skills and capability.

Proper ship design, structure, and equipment should be studied to improve the highest safety in water transportation.

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