Guidelines for Collecting Maritime Evidence Vol. 2, 2nd Edition, 2026

Technology and the use of electronic equipment on ships has advanced rapidly over recent years. It has changed the way data and information is presented, stored, recorded and retrieved, during routine operations and following a maritime incident. An essential companion to Guidelines for Collecting Maritime Evidence, Volume 1, this second volume focuses on electronic evidence, an important dimension in the collection and preservation process, that will be of interest to a range of parties, not least the ship’s Master, crew and management ashore. The new edition has been expanded to include updates on subjects such as machinery failure, fire damage and cargo deterioration.

Electronic evidence includes data and information collected from the many systems and equipment onboard ship that log their operation and output.  It also includes photographic, video and audio evidence collected from mobile devices in the digital age.  Accordingly, the threats and opportunities of artificial intelligence and digital reconstruction are examined while the ethics of evidence collection is also addressed. This book will be as relevant to mariners as it will be to ship managers, insurers, average adjusters and legal professionals. 

Topics include:

• How to recover and preserve electronic evidence
• Incident reconstruction using electronic evidence
• Use of electronic evidence by interested parties
• Evidence in the Admiralty and commercial courts