Team cognition in remote maritime operations: a scoping review and cross-domain theoretical synthesis.

INTRODUCTION

Remote maritime operations increasingly depend on complex, distributed socio-technical systems in which safe and effective performance relies on team cognition rather than on individual decision-making alone. Despite its importance, the conceptualisation and measurement of team cognition in this domain remain fragmented and underdeveloped.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Searches of SCOPUS, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost yielded 162 records, of which 51 publications (35 journal articles and 16 conference proceedings, published between 2010 and 2025) were included after screening, retrieval assessment, and expert recommendation. The included publications were thematically analysed using a hybrid deductive-inductive approach.

RESULTS

Five themes emerged: (1) situation awareness and its measurement and modelling, (2) collective team cognition, learning, and training, (3) human-autonomy teaming and remote collaboration, (4) visualisation and interface design for shared cognition, and (5) maritime applications of distributed cognition. The evidence demonstrates a shift from static, individual-based models toward dynamic, interaction-driven, and system-level accounts, in which team cognition arises from ongoing interactions among human agents, technical artefacts, and environmental constraints.

DISCUSSION: The findings indicate that shared and distributed situation awareness is central to coordination and safety in remote maritime operations. Key challenges include integrating autonomous systems, designing interfaces that support distributed sensemaking, and reliably measuring team cognition. Enhancing remote maritime safety requires aligning design, training, and regulatory frameworks with the principles of distributed cognition. Future research should prioritise longitudinal and intervention-based validation in real-world operational contexts.