Research on the Evacuation Characteristics of Cruise Ship Passengers in Multi-Scenarios

Abstract

As a popular way of travelling on water, cruise tourism is welcomed by the public. The cruise ship, as a large water-borne city, can accommodate a large number of passengers, but simultaneously their safety should be ensured in the event of an emergency. This work studied the evacuation characteristics of passengers by analyzing evacuation processes in multiple scenarios on cruise ships. Four typical evacuation scenarios were established, and the initial parameters of passengers were defined by creating a passenger agent. Simulation experiments were carried out for these scenarios, and the results show that groups of passengers need more time to complete the evacuation than individual passengers. The number of passengers arriving at the embarkation area in one time period under the group evacuation scenario is less than that under the individual evacuation scenario. However, the peak period of arrival at the embarkation area under the group evacuation scenario lasts longer than that under the individual evacuation scenario. For passengers with slower walking speeds, they may complete the evacuation in a shorter time as long as their cabins are near the embarkation deck or in the suitable main vertical zones. This proves that the evacuation efficiency of passengers is affected by their initial positions, and evacuation time can be reduced by means of the allocation of cabins according to the movement characteristics of passengers.