A systematic review of cognitive and social factors in vessel traffic services operations

Vessel traffic service (VTS) plays a key role in the safety of maritime navigation by organising the sea traffic, ensuring regulatory compliance, promoting information exchange and early detection of navigational hazards and assisting in collision avoidance. The cognitive and social factors influencing the performance of VTS operators require important considerations in this regard. Current developments in the maritime industry and changing operational profiles present novel challenges for VTS operators. This study aims to present the empirical findings related to the applied cognitive and social factors pertaining to VTS operations for the past two decades. A systematic literature review was conducted with a Boolean search strategy across six major databases. The literature associated with empirical investigations was extracted as per the PRISMA guidelines. The study identified 19 articles that satisfied the pre-determined inclusion criteria. A qualitative synthesis of the identified literature was performed, aggregating the findings into various sub-groups based on thematic areas and contexts. The obtained results revealed fatigue and mental workload as the most frequently examined factors, while factors such as decision-making, communication, coordination and perception also influenced the VTS operator’s performance. The findings shed light on the current state of the art for research and practical applications related to cognitive and social factors influencing VTS operator performance and their impact on maritime safety. The result also identified gaps in the literature where further research is warranted, particularly related to emerging trends of automation and digitalisation in the maritime industry.