Keep the paper copy: WHO's advice on ship health documents going digital
What happened
On 28 October 2026, the World Health Organization advised countries to support both digital and paper versions of two ship health documents, rather than going digital-only. The documents are the Ship Declaration of Health, completed and submitted by a ship's master, and the Ship Sanitation Certificate, issued by a country's competent authorities. Between them they record a ship's health status and the sanitary condition of the vessel. WHO's advice is straightforward. Ship operators and authorities should keep a non-digital copy available alongside any digital one, so a port authority can review it on request. The reason is a mismatch between two sets of international rules. Article 35 of the amended International Health Regulations allows these documents to be issued in either digital or non-digital format, as long as their authenticity can be verified. The International Health Regulations are legally binding on 197 countries, and the 2024 amendments came into force for most of them on 19 September 2025. Meanwhile, since 1 January 2024, the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic — the FAL Convention, overseen by the International Maritime Organization — has required public authorities to set up and use Maritime Single Window systems for electronic submission of information about a ship's arrival, stay and departure. The problem is that many countries do not yet have the systems, capacity or interoperability arrangements to issue and verify digital ship health documents, even where the rules anticipate them.
Why this matters
This sounds like paperwork, and in a sense it is. But the paperwork is what keeps ports open. A ship arriving at a port needs clearance before anyone or anything comes off it. If the port authority cannot verify the ship's health documents, the ship waits. Multiply that across a global shipping network and you get delays that reach ordinary people as late deliveries, higher costs, and in the case of passenger ships, disrupted itineraries. WHO's concern is specific and worth understanding. If wealthier countries move to digital-only systems while others cannot, the countries without the systems are the ones that suffer. WHO describes the risk as a wider digital divide, and says keeping paper copies available should prevent it and avoid unnecessary disruption to international shipping. There is a second point, which is about trust. The International Health Regulations work because countries accept each other's documents. If a certificate issued in one country cannot be checked in another, that mutual acceptance starts to break down. WHO explicitly frames its advice as a way of keeping trust between States Parties intact while the technology catches up. For travellers, the relevance is mostly indirect but real. Cruise passengers and ferry users depend on the same clearance processes. And the health documents themselves exist for a public health reason: they are part of how countries spot disease arriving by sea at a point of entry.
What the evidence actually says
It is worth being precise about the status of this, because "WHO advises" can be read as stronger than it is. This is guidance, not a new rule. WHO is asking States Parties to facilitate the coexistence of digital and non-digital formats. It does not change the International Health Regulations, and it does not change the FAL Convention. Neither instrument has been amended by this advice. The WHO update contains no direct quotes from named officials, and no statistics. It does not say how many countries currently lack digital capability, only that many do. That is an honest limitation of the document rather than something hidden in it. It is also a transitional measure by design. WHO presents the dual-format approach as a way of easing the move to digital systems, not as an argument against digitisation. The direction of travel is still towards electronic submission. The advice is about not arriving there unevenly. On the underlying rules, a small clarification matters. The Maritime Single Window requirement comes from the FAL Convention, which is an International Maritime Organization instrument, not from the International Health Regulations. WHO cites it as relevant context. The IMO describes the FAL Convention as the 1965 convention, as amended, developed to standardise procedures and reduce red tape in maritime traffic. Who this actually affects: national authorities responsible for border health, port authorities, the competent authorities that issue Ship Sanitation Certificates, shipmasters who complete Ship Declarations of Health, and conveyance operators including ship owners and ship agents.
Practical advice
Most readers will not be filling in a Ship Declaration of Health. But there are some genuinely useful takeaways here. If you work in shipping or port operations, the practical instruction is simple: keep a non-digital copy of the Ship Declaration of Health and the Ship Sanitation Certificate available, alongside any digital version, so a port authority can review it on request. If you are taking a cruise or a long ferry crossing, the broader lesson applies to your own documents too. Carry paper backups of anything that matters: booking confirmations, travel insurance details, your passport details, and any vaccination records your destination requires. A phone that is flat, lost or out of signal is not an unusual event, and border processes are exactly where it causes most trouble. Carry a paper copy of your prescription list if you take regular medication. Generic names, not just brand names, because brands differ between countries. If a crossing is delayed and you need to get a supply abroad, that single sheet of paper does more work than anything on your phone. Check entry health requirements for your destination before you travel, and check them again close to departure. Rules on vaccination certificates and health declarations change, and they are the responsibility of the destination country, not your operator. If you are travelling with a health condition, take enough medication for longer than your trip. A week's extra supply covers most delays. And a general principle worth borrowing from WHO here: do not let a digital system be your only copy of something you cannot travel without.
What to know
WHO has advised countries to keep both digital and paper versions of two ship health documents available: the Ship Declaration of Health and the Ship Sanitation Certificate. The reason is a gap between rules and capability. Article 35 of the amended International Health Regulations permits either format where authenticity can be verified, and the FAL Convention has required Maritime Single Window systems for electronic submission since 1 January 2024. But many countries do not yet have the systems or interoperability to issue and verify digital versions. WHO's stated aims are to prevent a wider digital divide between countries, avoid unnecessary disruption to international shipping, and maintain trust between countries while the technology catches up. This is guidance, not a change to either set of rules. The amended International Health Regulations came into force for most of the 197 States Parties on 19 September 2025. For ordinary travellers, the transferable lesson is the one WHO is applying to shipping: carry a paper backup of the documents you cannot travel without, including a list of your medicines using their generic names. Sources: World Health Organization, "WHO advises coexistence of digital and non-digital ship-related health documents", 28 October 2026, https://www.who.int/news/item/28-10-2026-who-advises-coexistence-of-digital-and-non-digital-ship-related-health-documents; World Health Organization, "International Health Regulations", current since 19 September 2025, https://www.who.int/health-topics/international-health-regulations; International Maritime Organization, "Facilitation", https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Facilitation/Pages/Default.aspx. This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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