Language Barriers and Communication Problems under Multicultural Environment and Marine Accident

As the number of ships and goods shipped by marine transportation increases, almost all shipping companies adopted foreign crews in order to overcome lack of seafarers and be competitive for manning cost. Thus, these days it is inevitable to work with foreign crews aboard ships, but there occur many marine accidents due to language barriers and communication problems under multicultural and multilingual shipboard environments. In order to resolve troubles resulting from different languages, reduce miscommunication risks, and make working on ships safe and efficient, this study recognized the current status of ships with mixed crews, analyzed marine accidents caused by communication problems not only in Korea but also in other countries using analytical methodologies. Additionally, existing hazards affecting miscommunication were identified and risk of miscommunication was quantitatively evaluated while offering suggestions and future forecasts. Consequently, in this study we suggested that fundamental dialogues are to be necessarily educated on the ships with foreign crews so as to reduce the language barrier and risk of miscommunication. Furthermore, a standard maritime Korean language program and manual targeting Korean coastal vessels would be developed in the next step.