Journal of Maritime Medicine is an independent, journal-style platform dedicated to maritime, expedition and remote medicine, with a particular focus on shipboard care, polar itineraries and medico-legal awareness.
The project grew from years of working as a senior ship’s doctor on cruise and expedition vessels, encountering the same themes repeatedly: complex patients far from definitive care, long evacuation times, constrained diagnostics, and documentation that must stand up to later scrutiny by operators, insurers and courts.
Mission & Scope
Journal of Maritime Medicine aims to bring together practical clinical guidance, operational thinking and medico-legal insight in a single, accessible place. It is not a traditional academic journal, but a practice-focused, peer-informed reference for those delivering or overseeing healthcare at sea.
- Case-based discussion of medical problems in cruise and expedition settings.
- Remote, telemedical and polar medicine frameworks, including when evacuation is not immediately possible.
- Practical tools: checklists, templates and suggested documentation structures.
- Medico-legal reflections designed to inform both clinical and legal audiences.
About the Editor
The editor of Journal of Maritime Medicine is a physician with training in anaesthesia, intensive care, pain, and extensive experience as a senior doctor on cruise and polar expedition vessels. This includes work across different cruise brands and itineraries, including remote areas such as Antarctica and the high Arctic.
Alongside clinical practice, the editor has been involved in medico-legal work, documentation review, and advisory roles for operators and insurers. That perspective informs the emphasis on clear documentation, realistic standards of care for remote practice, and transparent discussion of difficult cases.
Editorial Approach & Independence
Journal of Maritime Medicine is editorially independent. Articles and resources may discuss general approaches and frameworks, but they do not represent the policies of any specific operator or insurer. Where guest authors are involved, conflicts of interest will be declared and content will be reviewed for clarity and fairness.
Nothing on this site replaces local medical regulation, flag state requirements, or formal legal advice. Instead, the intent is to support better informed clinical and operational decisions, and better quality records, in the challenging environment of care at sea.