Abstract
Marine traffic safety of the Vung Tau Waterway, from port limit to Ganh Rai Gulf, plays a crucial role in the economic development of the important triangular economic zone in the south of Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai Province, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. This paper uses the IWRAP Mk2 program to assess marine traffic safety and shows that in the area there are three parts of fairway have highest risk of collision (from buoys No. 8-9 to buoys No. 1-2 of the Song Dinh fairway; from buoy No. 0 to buoys No. 8-9 and from buoys No. 6-9 to buoys No. 8-9A of the Sai Gon-Vung Tau fairway) and the two areas have highest risk of grounding (the Vung Tau coastline from Ganh Hao to Sao Mai and an area in the Ganh Rai Gulf). In addition, the result of a questionnaire survey on a group of Pilots shows that wind, current and rain/fog have considerable negative effect to ship handling of large vessels in this area. This paper's results will be used in the further research to discover solutions for improving marine traffic safety in the Vung Tau Waterway.