f Applications of Fuzzy Set Theory for Risk Analysis in Maritime Industry: A Literature Survey

Over the past decades the complexity of ship and offshore operations has increased rapidly. Therefore, efficient and sophisticated quantitative and qualitative safety analysis techniques have been widely developed and implemented for determination and analysis the risk limits of marine and offshore industries related problems. Most risk analysis models are based on quantitative solution techniques which require crisp data. However, in many cases, the available information related to risk factors is not numerical. Rather this information can be expressed as words or phrases in a natural language. In addition, imprecision and vagueness on failure rates may lead to uncertainty in results, thus causing underestimated or overestimated prediction risk levels. By allowing approximate analysis, fuzzy set theory is an effective tool for characterizing system safety for marine and offshore industries’ applications. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth presentation of the contributions of fuzzy set theory in the field of marine and offshore industries, focusing risk analysis for real-world applications. For this purpose, we review extensively the literature and consolidate the main results on the application of fuzzy set theory to marine and offshore industries safety problems. Throughout the course of this study, it has been observed that fuzzy set theory has been intensively applied to marine and offshore industries safety problems, and has been rapidly grown in the applications. Finally, recommendations on further studies in marine and offshore safety analysis are suggested.