Enhancing Maritime Education and Risk Management Practices for LPG Mixed Loading: A Qualitative Analysis

This study investigates the effectiveness of LPG mixed loading risk management strategies and the alignment of maritime education with industry needs, focusing on preparation of graduates for handling high-pressure risks in maritime operations. A qualitative methodology was employed, utilizing in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 7 maritime professionals (each with over 20 years of industry experience), 13 maritime vocational lecturers, and 13 graduates of four-year maritime polytechnic programs — totaling 33 participants across three stakeholder groups. Data were analyzed through a systematic three-stage thematic analysis procedure with intercoder verification. Key findings reveal significant score differentials across groups: maritime professionals rated the effectiveness of LPG mixed loading risk management strategies at 9.0, while lecturers scored 7.0 and graduates only 6.5 — a gap of 2.5 points that constitutes the study's most diagnostically significant finding. Similar divergences were observed across safety practice efficiency, vocational training effectiveness, and sustainability in risk management. The study identifies a structural education–industry gap in which current maritime vocational curricula provide theoretical foundations but inadequately develop the practical, operational competencies required for high-pressure LPG loading environments. The principal contribution of this study is a multi-stakeholder evidential base demonstrating that the education–industry gap in maritime risk management competence is measurable, persistent, and amenable to curriculum reform — specifically through simulator-based practical training, industry immersion, and sustainability-integrated assessment — providing Indonesian maritime polytechnics with an empirically grounded rationale for curriculum redesign.