The Nautical Institute has prepared a second edition of Guidelines for Collecting Maritime Evidence, Volume 2, a document described as forthcoming in a report published by reports on 24 September 2026.
The new volume, as summarised by reports, examines how evidence from onboard systems should be identified, recovered and preserved, and how that material can be used to understand the circumstances surrounding a maritime casualty; the guidance is presented as an update to the earlier 2019 edition.
Originally published in 2019, the first volume laid groundwork for evidence handling after incidents at sea, and the Institute has revised the text to reflect what reports calls the rapid development of onboard technology.
The Nautical Institute’s position, reflected in the report’s headline, is that electronic evidence is transforming maritime casualty investigations; the forthcoming guidance is framed as a practical response to that shift and as an attempt to align investigative practice with contemporary shipboard systems.
Scope and structure
According to the summary, Volume 2 concentrates on the lifecycle of digital and electronic evidence from identification through recovery and preservation, setting out procedures for dealing with material originating on board ships and carried by embedded systems.
Practical effect for investigators
The guidance is described as intended to help those responsible for casualty investigation to extract and use electronic evidence so it can contribute to an accurate understanding of events, without offering new legal standards or adjudicating responsibility.
Sources published the report on 24 September 2026, identifying the revised Guidelines for Collecting Maritime Evidence, Volume 2 as a forthcoming publication from The Nautical Institute; the article notes the revision responds to advances in shipboard technology since the original 2019 edition.