Measures to prevent accidents at sea

...The number of ships in need of rescue in Japan varies slightly from year to year, but is generally between 1,800 and 2,400. Of these, groundings, collisions, and engine failures account for 50 to 60 percent of the total number of ships in distress.
[Measures to prevent accidents at sea]
The causes of marine accidents can be broadly divided into those due to the environment, those due to the ship or machinery, and those due to the people involved in the operation. Among environmental factors, forecasting systems for typhoons and seasonal winds, among others, have made a great contribution to reducing marine accidents due to stormy weather, thanks to technological advances such as meteorological observation using artificial satellites and the creation of weather forecast charts using computers. Until the 1940s, sailors were practically blind in the face of poor visibility caused by dense fog, but in recent years, radar has become completely widespread, at least on ordinary commercial ships, and as long as it is used properly, collisions and groundings are almost impossible even in poor visibility.

*The following is an explanation of some of the terms that refer to "measures to prevent accidents at sea."

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…日本における要救助船舶の発生隻数は年によって多少の増減はあるがおおむね1800～2400隻の間であり，そのうち，乗揚げ，衝突，機関故障の三つの合計が全海難隻数の50～60％を占めている。
［海難防止対策］
　海難の発生原因は，環境によるもの，船体や機械によるもの，運航に従事する人によるものに大別できるが，環境に関係する事がらのうちで台風や季節風などの予報システムは，人工衛星を利用した気象観測やコンピューターを使った予想天気図の作成のような技術が進んで，荒天による海難の減少に大きく貢献している。濃霧などによる視界不良に対しては1940年代までの船員はほとんど盲目に等しかったが，近年は少なくとも一般商船にはレーダーが完全に普及していて，この利用法を誤らなければ狭視界の中でも衝突や乗揚げ事故は起こりえないところにまで達している。…

※「海難防止対策」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報