CEMAS is a collaboration between Stockholm University and the Swedish National Maritime and Transport Museums, SMTM. The Centre does research and provides education within maritime history, archaeology and ethnology through individual projects as well as through interdisciplinary collaborations. Since its founding in 2010, the Centre has also financed several PhD students within all three disciplines.

The close collaboration with SMTM, the Swedish government agency in charge of several maritime museums like the Vasa museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Marine Museum, consists of both joint research and work with collections, exhibitions and public events.

Every semester, CEMAS in collaboration with SMTM organizes the Maritime seminars - a seminar series covering a variety of subjects within the maritime field.