Determinants of the severity of cruise vessel accidents

This study investigates determinants of the property damage and injury severities of cruise vessel accidents. Detailed data of individual cruise vessel accidents for the period 1991-2001 that were investigated by the US Coast Guard were used to estimate cruise vessel accident property damage and injury severity equations. The estimation results suggest that cruise vessel damage cost per vessel gross ton is greater for: allision, collision, equipment-failure, explosion, fire, flooding, and grounding cruise vessel accidents than for other types of accidents and a human cause. The accident injury severity is greater for ocean cruise than for inland waterway and harbor/dinner cruise vessel accidents and a human cause. The unit damage cost for explosion accidents is greater than that for other types of accidents by $207 per vessel gross ton. If the accident is caused by a human, rather than an environmental or vessel factor, the probabilities of non-fatal and fatal injuries increase.