A Study on Factors Affecting the Stability of Fishing Vessels in Hazardous Conditions at Sea

Fishing vessels are the most likely to capsize due to instability caused by hazardous conditions at sea. About 24,000 fatalities at sea among fishers occur each year. Many accidents and major catastrophes occur despite advancements in naval architecture, weather forecasting, communication, and other areas. This research was conducted to identify and rank the factors affecting the stability of fishing vessels located at Kuala Kedah and then to rule out possible solutions to overcome this issue. Based on the literature review, questionnaires are developed for research purposes. This questionnaire used the Likert scale to measure and rank the data. After the full survey was conducted, the results were plotted into a series of charts to give an overview of the study’s outcome. By gathering responses from the target group, this study shows that the stability of fishing vessels is associated with various factors, with the highest agreement by the respondents on the effects of wind and waves at sea. This suggests that the environmental hazard is most likely to occur compared to the other factors. Therefore, some recommendations are made to lay out the solutions to reduce the effect of fishing vessels’ instability.