Examining the typology of global pandemic impacts on maritime operations and management

• Maritime research on pandemic impacts varies by country, journal, and the pandemic’s status. • The pandemic led to unprecedented port restrictions, a decline in shipping, and fluctuations in shipping stocks and freight rates. • COVID-19 resulted in prolonged sea time and mental health issues for seafarers, creating a humanitarian crisis. • While causing structural damage to coral reefs, the pandemic reduced noise and air pollution and accelerated maritime digitalization. • Future research: the pandemic’s effects on port competition, governance, S&P markets, digitalization, and collective protective measures for seafarers. This paper examines the typology of COVID-19′s impacts on the maritime industry. Following the PRISMA method, we conducted a structured literature review of studies up to 2024, encompassing 143 articles. We first synthesized the demographics of this collection by grouping publishers, journals, methodological approaches, and countries of publication, followed by a content analysis. The findings reveal a typology of pandemic impacts across four main areas: ports, shipping activities, seafarers, and the maritime environment. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted port operations worldwide, leading to increased restrictions and global supply chain interruptions, resulting in port congestion and a marked decline in throughput and service quality. Similarly, the shipping industry faced substantial drops in demand, with variations across sub-sectors, causing fluctuations in different shipping markets. Additionally, the pandemic created a humanitarian crisis for seafarers, jeopardizing their well-being onboard. While COVID-19 led to reductions in water, noise, and air pollution from shipping, it also had adverse effects on coral reefs. Finally, the paper discusses research trends, key implications, and future research directions related to this topic.