CATEGORY
Maritime Medical Compliance and Port Health
Medical compliance for vessel operators: MLC rules, crew medical records and logbooks, CDC illness reporting, ship sanitation and medical program audits.
About this category
Working guides, not opinion pieces
Each guide isolates one obligation, names the rule behind it, and shows what an operator must produce on request.
What you will find in this category
These are working guides, not opinion pieces. Each one takes a single obligation, names the regulation behind it, and walks through what an operator has to produce when an inspector asks.
How these guides are written
Every regulatory claim links to a primary source: the eCFR for US rules, the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 for international standards, and the WHO International Medical Guide for Ships for chest contents. Where no citable figure exists, we say so instead of publishing one.
What medical equipment and guides must a ship carry?
Under MLC 2006 Standard A4.1(4)(a), every ship must carry a medicine chest, medical equipment and a medical guide, inspected at regular intervals and at least once every 12 months. Contents are set by the flag state using the WHO International Medical Guide for Ships. Vessels holding controlled substances also need a DEA-registered medical officer under 21 CFR 1301.25.
Sources: MLC 2006 Standard A4.1 and Guideline B4.1.1 (ILO), WHO International Medical Guide for Ships 3rd edition and its Quantification Addendum, 21 CFR 1301.25 (eCFR).
Start here
The guide operators open first
MOST READ · GUIDE
21 CFR 1301.25 explained, for the people who have to comply with it
The whole rule, paragraph by paragraph: who it applies to, the three medical officer conditions, and both annual reports.
- August 5, 2026
Common questions
Answers operators and search engines look for
Reading about compliance is not the same as being compliant
Tell us your vessels, flags and routes. A physician reviews your controlled substances, medicine chest and regulatory picture and shows you the gaps.
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