Comprehensive literature review of systemic safety analysis: trends and development in the maritime sector☆

• This study presents the first comprehensive systematic literature review of system-theoretic safety approaches (STAMP, STPA, CAST) in the maritime sector. • A hybrid review methodology was employed, combining the PRISMA method, bibliometric analysis, and structured scoping based on cross-domain review. • STPA is considered the dominant system-theoretic method in maritime safety. • In terms of maritime system and operation, the system-theoretic method was used for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), and also for remote operations of maritime niche applications. • Key research gaps are highlighted, including limited validation, inconsistent treatment of loss scenarios, and underdeveloped integration of human and organisational factors. With the growing complexity of sociotechnical systems in maritime transportation, system-theoretic approaches such as STPA, STAMP, and CAST have emerged as effective tools through their focus on control problems. To strengthen both theoretical foundations and practical implementation in the industry, it is necessary to review the development of systems theory within this domain, addressing current limitations and outlining future research directions. This article presents a comprehensive review of system-theory applications in maritime transportation, encompassing modelling processes, application areas, and associated challenges. A bibliometric analysis of 76 papers published between 2015 and 2024 was conducted to identify thematic clusters, keywords, and research trends. The review examined how systems theory has been applied, the data sources employed to generate models, and how these methods are integrated with conventional risk assessment approaches. Findings indicate that STPA is the most widely adopted technique in the maritime sector for systems-based safety analysis. More than half of the reviewed studies applied systems theory to risk analysis for autonomous vessels, demonstrating researchers’ confidence in STPA’s capacity to address the challenges of highly complex systems such as autonomous ships. At the same time, there is a growing interest in combining STPA with other methodologies to produce quantifiable results for safety assessments. Consequently, an increasing proportion of studies are evolving towards integration with computational methods, algorithms, and Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA). Overall, this paper provides a critical overview of system-theory applications in the maritime domain, highlighting limitations while offering recommendations to guide future research and practice.