INTRODUCTION
The impacts of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the marine
transportation system are widely felt and evolving quickly. Public
agencies at all levels of government with stewardship and regulatory
responsibilities over the marine transportation system which includes
ocean shipping, harbor operations, seaports, ferry systems, cruise
ships, offshore industries, barge operations, and inland waterway
systems, are scrambling to understand the current and potential effects
on operations, workforce, supply chains, and the traveling public.
Private sector marine transportation operators and service providers are
looking to the government and science-based institutions for guidance
and are seeking relevant research findings, best practices, lessons
learned, information on the current state of marine transportation, and
projections for what may be coming next as the effects of the
Coronavirus pandemic intensify and induce systemic impacts. As part of
the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the
Transportation Research Board (TRB) provides leadership in
transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely,
impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice
regarding all modes of transportation. TRB has reach into the largest
transportation researcher and practitioner pool in the world. We are
responding to the urgent need for the rapid dissemination of existing
research, research in progress, and the current state of understanding
by curating lists of relevant resources from authoritative entities.
This document includes links to authoritative and credible sources
relevant to pandemic response and guidance that directly pertains to the
maritime sector.