A STAMP-based causal analysis of the Korean Sewol ferry accident

The increased complexity of socio-technical systems has revealed the limited contributions of existing event-based accident analysis methods on sustainable safety improvements. Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) - constructed upon Systems Theory - deploys a holistic approach to safety and provides broad insights into accident causality via the integration of the analysis from both direct and indirect factors involved. A dedicated STAMP-based analysis is conducted in this paper by taking the recent Sewol ferry tragedy as an example, to illustrate the utility of applying the STAMP-Model to the maritime transportation domain and to stimulate a broader view of accident mechanisms that expands casual analysis beyond immediate physical failures to a systemic view. Some recommendations are developed for continuous improvements and corrective actions to prevent such catastrophic accident from future occurrences.