Research Information System
Balkan and Near Eastern Journal of Social Sciences (BNEJSS), vol.12, no.1, pp.45-63, 2026 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
The escalating transportation of hazardous materials by sea necessitates a more systematic and comprehensive approach to container storage operations within port areas, particularly in terms of safety and risk management. The present study aims to analyse the operational approaches and prioritisation tendencies of container terminals operating in Türkiye with regard to the storage of dangerous goods containers. A comprehensive review of the extant literature yielded six key criteria associated with storage operations. These criteria, which are outlined below, were identified as being of particular importance: the requirement for an emergency response unit; storage area safety; communication systems; authorised personnel access; dedicated storage areas; and designated operational areas. In the course of the research project, a structured survey was carried out with the 20 largest container terminals operating in Türkiye. The collected data were analysed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a multi-criteria decision-making method that enables the evaluation of relative importance among criteria. The analyses were conducted utilising the SuperDecisions software, with the relative weights of the criteria being calculated. The findings indicate that the safety of storage areas and the presence of an emergency response unit are of the utmost importance. The collective weight of these two criteria exceeds half of the total, thereby demonstrating that port managements primarily emphasise risk mitigation and crisis response capacity. The study emphasises that dangerous goods storage operations are managed within a holistic safety management framework, rather than solely as logistical activities.