Electronic evidence transforming casualty investigations – Nautical Institute

The Nautical Institute is highlighting the growing importance of electronic evidence following maritime accidents and incidents as modern ships generate more data and complex records of their operation.

The forthcoming second edition of Guidelines for Collecting Maritime Evidence, Volume 2 examines how evidence from onboard systems should be identified, recovered and preserved, and how it can be used to understand the circumstances surrounding a maritime casualty.

Originally published in 2019, the updated edition reflects the rapid development of onboard technology and the changing duties, responsibilities and risks faced by Masters, officers, crew and ship managers when an incident occurs.

The increasing availability of digital information provides investigators with opportunities that would have been unavailable to previous generations, but it also creates new challenges.

Simon Daniels PhD AFNI, Technical Editor of Guidelines for Collecting Maritime Evidence, Volume 2, said: “Ships now produce an extraordinary amount of digital information, but having more data available does not automatically mean that the circumstances of an incident will be easier to understand.

“The quality of an investigation still depends on knowing where relevant evidence may be found, acting quickly enough to preserve it and understanding the limitations of the systems that produced it.

“For Masters and officers, this is increasingly important professional knowledge. The records created by modern shipboard technology can play a significant role in reconstructing an incident and understanding the decisions that were taken.”

The second edition brings together expertise from across the maritime, technical, insurance and legal communities. Subjects include electronic evidence recovery, evidence following fires and machinery failures, cargo deterioration, digital tools and ethics, visual reconstruction and analysis, evidence gathering for prosecution, the P&I perspective, average adjustment and evidence in the Admiralty and Commercial Court.

It also examines the opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence. The publication stresses the need for material generated or supported by AI to be verified rather than accepted without professional scrutiny.

A further theme is the role of just culture in casualty investigation. The guidance argues that effective learning depends on maritime professionals being able to provide safety-related information openly and fairly, while recognising systemic factors as well as individual actions.

The foreword is written by Marius Schønberg MSc, Vice President, Head of Loss Prevention at Gard AS. He emphasises that effective evidence collection has value beyond establishing liability, helping the industry identify technical, operational and human causes and use those lessons to reduce future risk.