The International Medical Guide for Ships (IMGS), 3rd Edition shows the people responsible for medical care on board how to diagnose, treat and prevent seafarers' health problems. It's the standard medical reference carried on merchant ships.

Edition at a glance

What's in the 3rd Edition

• Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness and injury at sea
• Recommendations consistent with the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and the International Health Regulations
• Guidance on the ship's medicine chest and medical equipment

Why ships carry it

The ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, requires ships to carry a medicine chest, medical equipment and a medical guide. The IMGS is the guide most ships use to meet that requirement.

How it's used on board

The guide is written for officers and crew who aren't medical professionals. It's designed to be used together with radio medical advice, so the person treating a patient can follow a doctor's instructions given by radio or satellite phone.

First published in 1967, the guide's second edition (1988) was translated into more than 30 languages and used on tens of thousands of ships.