Probability Analysis of Vessel Collisions and Groundings in Southeast Texas Waterways

Abstract

The Sabine–Neches Waterway (SNWW) connects the Texas ports of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange with the Gulf of Mexico. The SNWW can be divided into three navigation routes, although they share some channels. The first route is the waterway from the Neches River, north of the port of Beaumont, to the port of Port Arthur, and then to the Gulf of Mexico. The second route is a part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), west of Port Arthur, which extends east of the port of Orange. The third route is from the port of Orange to the Gulf of Mexico. The SNWW plays an important role in its support of the economic growth of southeast Texas. Safe navigation in narrow waterways is one of the most important concerns of maritime authorities and researchers, while collisions and groundings are two of the most common kinds of vessel accidents. In the study reported here, the grounding and collision analysis toolbox was employed to analyze the probabilities of collisions and groundings in multiple segments along the SNWW. The impacts of vessel traffic on the probabilities of collisions and groundings were studied, respectively. The high-risk zones of potential collisions or groundings were identified in the SNWW.