[Your Name/Institution] Proposed Journal: Journal of Navigation / Marine Policy / WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs Abstract (approx. 250 words) The Malacca and Singapore Straits (MSS) constitute one of the world’s busiest and most hazardous maritime chokepoints, handling over 30% of global trade and 80% of oil supplies to East Asia. Despite advanced ship technology, grounding and collision risks persist due to high traffic density, shallow bathymetry (e.g., One Fathom Bank), cross‑traffic from fishing vessels, and piracy remnants. This paper evaluates the MSS Pilotage system — a hybrid regime of compulsory deep‑sea pilotage for specific vessel classes (e.g., VLCCs, LNG carriers) and voluntary/non‑compulsory pilotage for others.
Navigating Chokepoints: An Evaluation of Compulsory Pilotage, Human Factors, and Risk Mitigation in the Malacca and Singapore Straits malacca singapore straits pilot
Using a mixed‑method approach — incident analysis (2015–2025), semi‑structured interviews with 25 licensed MSS pilots, and AIS data from the Straits of Malacca — the study finds that compulsory pilotage reduces grounding incidents by ~40%, but human error (particularly pilot‑master communication failure and fatigue) remains the primary causal factor in 68% of accidents. Moreover, the absence of a unified compulsory regime across all flag states creates regulatory arbitrage, undermining safety. This paper evaluates the MSS Pilotage system —