Research Ethics

Authors must comply with applicable law, institutional regulations, and disciplinary standards when designing, conducting, and reporting research. For studies that require ethics committee review or other competent authorization, the manuscript must identify the approving body and approval number/date when available. Where ethical approval is not required or has been formally waived, authors must state the reason accurately; a generic 'ethical approval obtained' statement is insufficient.

For research involving identifiable individuals, human participants, interviews, or surveys, informed consent and appropriate protection of personal data must be addressed. Consent for participation and consent to publish identifiable images or personal details are separate considerations where relevant. Operational or commercially sensitive maritime data must be used and disclosed with lawful authorization.

Data Availability

All research articles should include a Data Availability Statement describing where the evidence supporting the study can be accessed or explaining justified restrictions. Acceptable arrangements include a trusted repository with a persistent link, access through an authorized institution, access from the corresponding author under defined conditions, or a clear explanation of why sharing is restricted by privacy, consent, safety, confidentiality, intellectual-property, or contractual obligations.

Data availability does not require disclosure of sensitive personal data or material that cannot lawfully be shared. Authors should preserve documentation needed for verification in accordance with ethical requirements and applicable institutional retention rules.

Integrity and Reproducibility

Authors must not fabricate or selectively misrepresent data. Editors may request supporting data, analytic code, instruments, approvals, or explanations where needed for a legitimate assessment. Inability to make data public should not, by itself, be described as misconduct when restrictions are justified and clearly reported.

Related: Author Guidelines; Publication Ethics.