2015 Annual Report Worldwide Ferry Safety Association January 4, 2016 Overview The goal of the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association’s (WFSA) has been to identify and disseminate approaches, primarily technology-based, to reduce ferry fatalities. We focus on technology because it is often an impetus for social change. In 2015 we have continued to sponsor our annual vessel design competition, commissioned student research, convened a technology-based conference, and served as a central locus for the dissemination of other organizations’ research. We note that during 2015 more organizations, researchers, and operators have engaged in research efforts and have initiated capital and operational improvements for ferry safety. We have identified a market and potential partners for a project to develop a based training program. Third Annual Student Design Competition for a Safe, Affordable Ferry The 2015 design competition was opened to student contestants on August 15. Submissions will be due March 15, 2016. The 2015 competition calls for student teams to design a RoPax ferry to traverse several stops in the Savu Sea area of Indonesia. The Savu Sea stops include Komodo Island (of Komodo dragon fame) and Flores Island, where the skeletons of hobbit-like human populations have been found. Twenty-four teams registered this year, almost double our participation in previous years, and far more teams came from the developing world in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the total than in previous years. More specifically, seven teams registered from Indonesian universities, four from Indian institutions, and three from Bangladesh. Also represented are Canada, Germany, Scotland, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Sweden’s World Maritime University. This year’s high degree of participation by students in the developing world will encourage the next generation of maritime professionals in accident-prone nations to seek out safety solutions at home and abroad, helping influence the entire developing world’s ferry safety. Last year’s competition was initiated on January 1, 2014 and results of the competition were announced in the fall of 2014. Student awardees were invited and subsidized to attend the Ferry Safety and Technology conference in New York in April 2015, where they were honored for their participation. Ferry Safety and Technology Conference The WFSA’s 2015 Ferry Safety and Technology Conference, the first of its kind, was successful on a number of counts. The conference attracted high-quality speakers with expertise in weather information technology, vessel design, communications,
2015 Annual Report Worldwide Ferry Safety Association January 4, 2016 Overview The goal of the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association’s (WFSA) has been to identify and disseminate approaches, primarily technology-based, to reduce ferry fatalities. We focus on technology because it is often an impetus for social change. In 2015 we have continued to sponsor our annual vessel design competition, commissioned student research, convened a technology-based conference, and served as a central locus for the dissemination of other organizations’ research. We note that during 2015 more organizations, researchers, and operators have engaged in research efforts and have initiated capital and operational improvements for ferry safety. We have identified a market and potential partners for a project to develop a training program. Third Annual Student Design Competition for a Safe, Affordable Ferry The 2015 design competition was opened to student contestants on August 15. Submissions will be due March 15, 2016. The 2015 competition calls for student teams to design a RoPax ferry to traverse several stops in the Savu Sea area of Indonesia. The Savu Sea stops include Komodo Island (of Komodo dragon fame) and Flores Island, where the skeletons of hobbit-like human populations have been found. Twenty-four teams registered this year, almost double our participation in previous years, and far more teams came from the developing world in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the total than in previous years. More specifically, seven teams registered from Indonesian universities, four from Indian institutions, and three from Bangladesh. Also represented are Canada, Germany, Scotland, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Sweden’s World Maritime University. This year’s high degree of participation by students in the developing world will encourage the next generation of maritime professionals in accident-prone nations to seek out safety solutions at home and abroad, helping influence the entire developing world’s ferry safety. Last year’s competition was initiated on January 1, 2014 and results of the competition were announced in the fall of 2014. Student awardees were invited and subsidized to attend the Ferry Safety and Technology conference in New York in April 2015, where they were honored for their participation. Ferry Safety and Technology Conference The WFSA’s 2015 Ferry Safety and Technology Conference, the first of its kind, was successful on a number of counts. The conference attracted high-quality speakers with expertise in weather information technology, vessel design, communications, based