Understanding the work and rest
hours requirements on ships
Fatigue is seen as significant contributory factor to many incidents in shipping industry. And the aim
of the rest hour requirements is to avoid or minimise fatigue.
But compliance with rest hours requirements has become the seafarer’s worst nightmare these
days.
Not only you and your ship staff need to be well rested each day but you also need to prove it to the
authorities.
Worst, when authorities compare the rest hours records with other documents like
drill records
Enclosed space entry permits
Bunkering operation timings
Tank cleaning records
port arrival and departure times
Bridge watch levels
And countless other records.
Mind you, regular non-compliance with the work and rest hours requirements can be the reason
enough for the detention of the vessel by port state controls.
The best way to avoid this nightmare is by understanding the rest hours requirements.
What complicates it further is that we had multiple regulations stating the same requirements but in
the slightly different way.
These are
ILO/MLC 2006 requirements for work and rest hours
STCW 2010 requirements for work and rest hours
OPA-90 requirements for work and rest hours.
Thankfully after Manila amendments to STCW code, the STCW 2010 requirements are made in line
with the MLC requirements.
Now, all we need to worry about is to comply with one requirement and others will be complied
automatically.
OPA-90 requirements are for crew working on tanker vessels trading in US waters and these still
have slightly different requirements than STCW and MLC.
For understanding the work and rest hours requirements, I will focus on STCW requirements in this
article.
STCW Requirements for Work and rest Hours
STCW Chapter A-VIII/1 (Fitness for duty) defines the work and rest hours requirements.
Let us understand each point of the regulation one by one.
a minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period
The first requirement about the rest hours is to have a minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour
period.
Let us say below are the work and rest hours for 1st of a month for a seafarer.
Does this comply with the 10 hours rest in any 24 hours period?
Yes, of course !!! In this day the seafarer has got the rest from 0000-0600 hrs and then 2000-2400
Hrs amounting to 10 hours.
But there is more to this requirement than it meets the eye. Let us say next day this seafarer came to
work at 0500 Hrs and knocked off at 1000 Hrs. After that, he was off for the full day.
Does it still comply with 10 hours rest requirement?
No, it does not comply now. Why?
The requirement is for 10 hours of rest in ANY 24 hour period. I can choose any 24 hour period and
check if he got 10 hours rest in that period or not.
In this case, I choose 24 hour period from 0600 Hrs on 01st day to 0600 Hrs on the next day. Count
the rest hours in this 24 hours period.
It comes out to be 9 hours only. So in this 24 hour period, he got total rest of 09 hours only and
would not comply with the 10 hours of rest requirement.
The takeaway point is that the word “any” is important in this requirement.
2) minimum 77 Hours of rest in any 7 days period
This is similar to the earlier requirement we discussed but it takes into account the rest in 7 days
period.
The word “any” is again important in this.
The 7 days period is not necessarily from midnight to midnight. It can be any time of any day and 7
days period thereafter.
So I can choose 0900 hrs on 2nd May to 0900 Hrs of 09th May. Or I can choose from 1200 Hrs on
12th May to 1200 hrs on 19th May.
Understanding the work and rest hours requirements on ships
Written by Capt Rajeev Jassal on December 30, 2017
Fatigue is seen as significant contributory factor to many incidents in shipping industry. And the aim
of the rest hour requirements is to avoid or minimise fatigue.
But compliance with rest hours requirements has become the seafarer’s worst nightmare these
days.
Not only you and your ship staff need to be well rested each day but you also need to prove it to the
authorities.
Worst, when authorities compare the rest hours records with other documents like
drill records
Enclosed space entry permits
Bunkering operation timings
Tank cleaning records
port arrival and departure times
Bridge watch levels
And countless other records.
Mind you, regular non-compliance with the work and rest hours requirements can be the reason
enough for the detention of the vessel by port state controls.
The best way to avoid this nightmare is by understanding the rest hours requirements.
What complicates it further is that we had multiple regulations stating the same requirements but in
the slightly different way.
These are
ILO/MLC 2006 requirements for work and rest hours
STCW 2010 requirements for work and rest hours
OPA-90 requirements for work and rest hours.
Thankfully after Manila amendments to STCW code, the STCW 2010 requirements are made in line
with the MLC requirements.
Now, all we need to worry about is to comply with one requirement and others will be complied
automatically.
OPA-90 requirements are for crew working on tanker vessels trading in US waters and these still
have slightly different requirements than STCW and MLC.
For understanding the work and rest hours requirements, I will focus on STCW requirements in this
article.
STCW Requirements for Work and rest Hours
STCW Chapter A-VIII/1 (Fitness for duty) defines the work and rest hours requirements.
Let us understand each point of the regulation one by one.
a minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period
The first requirement about the rest hours is to have a minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour
period.
Let us say below are the work and rest hours for 1st of a month for a seafarer.
Does this comply with the 10 hours rest in any 24 hours period?
Yes, of course !!! In this day the seafarer has got the rest from 0000-0600 hrs and then 2000-2400
Hrs amounting to 10 hours.
But there is more to this requirement than it meets the eye. Let us say next day this seafarer came to
work at 0500 Hrs and knocked off at 1000 Hrs. After that, he was off for the full day.
Does it still comply with 10 hours rest requirement?
No, it does not comply now. Why?
The requirement is for 10 hours of rest in ANY 24 hour period. I can choose any 24 hour period and
check if he got 10 hours rest in that period or not.
In this case, I choose 24 hour period from 0600 Hrs on 01st day to 0600 Hrs on the next day. Count
the rest hours in this 24 hours period.
It comes out to be 9 hours only. So in this 24 hour period, he got total rest of 09 hours only and
would not comply with the 10 hours of rest requirement.
The takeaway point is that the word “any” is important in this requirement.
2) minimum 77 Hours of rest in any 7 days period
This is similar to the earlier requirement we discussed but it takes into account the rest in 7 days
period.
The word “any” is again important in this.
The 7 days period is not necessarily from midnight to midnight. It can be any time of any day and 7
days period thereafter.
So I can choose 0900 hrs on 2nd May to 0900 Hrs of 09th May. Or I can choose from 1200 Hrs on
12th May to 1200 hrs on 19th May.
Irrespective of which 7 days period I choose, the rest hours need to a minimum of 77 hours.
3) Rest may be divided into no more than 2 periods, one of which need to be at least 6 hours
We need to have at least 10 hours of rest in any 24 hours, that’s OK. But we need to have some
hours of continuous rest too.
If a crew is made to work on 3 hours on- 3 hours off basis, he would not be considered as sufficiently
rested even though he gets 12 hours of rest in 24 hours period.
This requirement checks that.
It requires that the required 10 hours of rest in any 24 hour period
May be divided into no more than 2 periods
one of these periods need to be at least 6 hours
So the required 10 hours rest can be in combination of
6 Hours + 4 hours
7 hours + 3 hours
8 hours + 2 hours
9 hours + 1 hour
The second requirement is that the “rest may be divided into no more than two periods”.
For example, the 10 hours rest in a combination of 6+2+2 hours will not work. This will be the
violation of rest hours requirements.
But then what about 6+4+2?
In this case, the rest hours are divided into three parts. Does it still comply with the work and rest
hours STCW requirements?
Yes, it does. The requirement is about dividing the minimum 10 hours of rest into no more than two
periods. Any rest hours above that will not violate the maximum two periods requirement.
4) Interval between consecutive period of rest shall not exceed 14 hours
The more simple way to say this is “a seafarer shall not be put to work continuously for more than
14 hours”.
If the condition of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period is satisfied, this condition will be satisfied
automatically.
5) Exception to 77 hours of rest in any 7 days
As per STCW
Parties may allow exceptions from the required 77 hours of rest in any 7 days, provided
the rest period is not less than 70 Hours in any 7 days period
the exception is not allowed for more than two consecutive weeks
Let us say a crew’s work schedule is from 0600 Hrs to 2000 Hrs each day. This schedule would
comply with 10 hours requirement as well as break up of these 10 hours requirement.
It does not comply with 77 hours requirement in any 7 days period.
The exception allows this work schedule to continue but it has three conditions.
First, the rest period should not be less than 70 hours in any 7 days. So in our example, it would
comply with this requirement as the rest hours in 7 days period is not less than 70 hours.
Second, this exception is not allowed for more than 2 weeks.
So for our example, this schedule can continue till 14th of month. For the third week (14th to 21st),
the rest need to be not less than 77 Hours.
And the third condition is, the interval between two periods of exceptions shall not be less than
twice the duration of exception.
So if the exception was used for one week, the next exception can only be after two weeks.
And if the exception was used for consecutive two weeks, the next exception can only be after 4
weeks.
As we discussed, this exception cannot be used for more than two consecutive weeks.
6) Exception to 10 hours of rest divided into no more than 2 periods
STCW provides the exception from the requirement of dividing 10 hours of rest in no more than two
periods, one being not less than 6 hours.
As per this exception
10 hours of rest may be divided into no more than three periods
one of which shall be at least 6 hours in length
neither of the other two periods shall be less than one hour in length
Exceptions shall not extend beyond two 24-hour periods in any 7 days period
So this exception allows the 10 hours rest to be divided into three parts as
6 hours+3 hours+1 hour
7 hours+2 hours+1 Hour
8 hours+1 hour +1 hour
6 hours+2 hours+2 hours
But this exception can only be used for maximum of two times in any 7 days period. Again the word
“Any” is important in “any 7 days”.
Let us say this is the rest hours break up of one crew in a 7 days period.
As we can see, the exception to divide the 10 hours of rest in 3 periods has been used twice. So this
is fine.
But if it was used for three times in this 7 days period, it would be the violation of rest hours
requirements.
The break-up for day 4 will not be considered as dividing the rest hours in 3 parts because 10-hours
of rest has been divided in two parts. The next 2 hours of rest can be considered as extra rest and
not part of 10 hours of rest.
Drills, training and rest hours requirements
One of the most frequently asked questions about rest hours requirements is, “if the time spent
during drills will fall under rest hours or work hours?
Here is what you need to know about time spent during drills.
This time needs to be entered as “work hours” but for the compliance with the rest hours
requirements, it will not be counted as work hours.
What does that mean?
Let us say this below are the work hours for one crew for a day which includes drill from 1700 to
1800 Hrs.
Even after showing drill timings as ‘work hours”, we are complying with the Work & rest hours
requirements.
But let us consider these rest hours timings for two days, say 19th and 20th Dec 2017?
The drill was carried out on 19th Dec 2017 between 1800 Hrs to 1900 Hrs.
Is the ship complying with work and rest hours requirements?
No. Because if we consider 24 hours period from 0800 hrs on 19th Dec, there are only 9 hours of
rest.
But what if we consider the drill timings as “period of rest”. You will see that in this case, we will
comply with rest hours requirements.
The point I am trying to make is this.
We need to mark the drill as work hours but for calculation of compliance with work and rest hours,
we need to consider this as rest hours.
The below flow chart can make this little easier to understand.
Dealing with rest hours non-compliance
We have discussed the STCW requirements for work and rest hours. These need to comply with at
all times.
Even if sometimes these cannot be complied with, the exception to these rules can be allowed as
per the STCW requirements.
But it will be the violation of STCW and MLC if the rest hour requirements are not met even after the
allowed exceptions.
Master and department heads need to be proactive in assessing the situation and must know about
any situations that would lead to non-compliance with rest hour requirements.
When identified, the master needs to act and allow the required rest to the concerned crew.
If it requires the master to delay the berthing of the vessel, the master must not hesitate.
But what if the non-compliance has already resulted and was identified only after it had happened.
In this case, the company’s procedure for dealing with rest hours non-compliance need to be
followed.
To avoid the issues with “port state control” in future, it is advised to make a Non-conformance
report” with corrective and preventive action taken. The company should send this to flag to close
the matter.
This NCR and response from flag can then be attached to the rest hours.
Rest hours Calculation Softwares
The STCW rest hours requirements are complex. If I give a weekly rest hours sheet of a crew
involving various activities such as port arrivals and departures, it will not be easy for you to check if
this complies with all the requirements.
That is where rest hours software comes handy.
Most of the companies have provided a software on board to help master and officers check
compliance with the crew rest hour requirements.
The most used software in the industry is ISF Watchkeeper.
The best part of this software is that it takes into account all the regulations related to work and rest
hours.
For example when in US waters, the crew of the tanker vessels also need to comply with OPA-90
requirements of work and rest hours.
In ISF watchkeeper, the Master (with admin password) can check the OPA-90 option and it will check
the compliance with these requirements.
Conclusion
Fatigue has been identified as one of the major factors in maritime incidents. This makes it so much
important to address this issue and to ensure that seafarers working on ships are not fatigued.
Work and rest hours requirements set a regulatory framework for the minimum rest hours each
seafarer need to be provided.
In a nutshell, STCW 2010 requires
10 hours of rest in any 24 hours which may be divided into no more than two periods, one
being at least 6 hours
77 Hours of rest in any 7 days period
STCW 2010 also provides some exception to these two important requirements.
It is the duty of the master and department head to ensure that there is no non-compliance with the
rest hours.
If any non-compliance is identified, the company’s procedures must be followed to deal (and close)
with such non-conformance.
MOHAMMAD MOKTARUZZAMAN
Jan 4, 2018
DEAR SIR,GOOD DAY.VERY EFFECTIVE EXPLANATIONS.I LIKE TO READ
YOUR WRITING TO ENRICH MY KNOWLEDGE. COULD YOU PLEASE
EXPLAIN ME HOW TO MAINTAIN WORK AND REST HOUR IF CREW
WORKING SIXES(6 ON AND 6 OFF). SAY IF PORT STAY FOR 7 DAYS THEN
WORK HOUR EQUAL 84 HRS HENCE EXCEED 72 HRS.HAND OVER AND
TAKE OVER WATCH 15 MINUTES BEFORE HENCE LESS THAN MINIMUM
PERIOD OF 6 HOURS.HOPE YOUR GOOD HEALTH.
Reply
Rajeev Jassal
Jan 9, 2018
6 Hours on/off will not comply with rest hours requirements if we take
into account hand over period. That is the reason many companies are
shifting to 7 hours +5 Hours working arrangements. But of course when
we use 6 on/Off, we do not take into account the hand over period while
recording rest hours.
Satyajit Dilip
Jan 2, 2018
Excellently explained. Appreciate the slides you have made to explain it.
So much easier to understand. In the class we were told that after you
have taken 2 weeks consecutive exemptions, then before you get into the
next exemption, you have to take permission from Flag state. Wanted to
confirm with you if this is so?? Also if a PSCO boards vessel just after
vessel has berthed and ask for the work and rest hours in the last 24
hours of the crew member who was at the gangway and if it does not
comply, then can we apply the not more than 2 exceptions per week in
this scenario to get away with this observation??
Reply
Rajeev Jassal
Jan 9, 2018
If 2 exceptions have been used, next exception can be after 4 weeks. In
this case, there is no need to take permission from flag state. We cannot
take permission from the flag if we want to have the exception before 4
weeks in this case. There is no provision that allows violating the rest
hours requirements with flag state permission. If we see that rest hours
may not comply today or next day, we need to stop (anchor) the ship.
Role of the Flag state would only come if some violation has already
happened and it was realized later after it had happened. The company
can inform the flag state of preventive actions taken to avoid issues with
any PSC. regarding the second query, yes we can apply the allowed
exceptions.
Richard
Jun 23, 2018
Hello, Great article, along with all your other articles. There is a debate of
what the MLC/STCW hours of work and/or rest are under international law
and UK law. Your article, MLC, STCW and the MCA state the MINIMUM
requirements for REST as 10 hours in a 24 hour period & 77 hours in a 7
day period. MLC and the MCA talks about MAXIMUM hours of WORK as 14
hours in a 24 hour period & 72 hours in a 7 day period. See MSN 1888
annex Aii. "5. The limits on hours of work or rest shall be as follows: (a)
maximum hours of work shall not exceed: (i) 14 hours in any 24-hour
period; and (ii) 72 hours in any seven-day period; or (b) minimum hours
of rest shall not be less than: (i) ten hours in any 24-hour period; and (ii)
77 hours in any seven-day period." The key question is, what does "OR"
really mean? The flat state decides now does it? Which flags enforce
hours of REST and which flags enforce hours of WORK? The big question
is on any ship worldwide, or a UK ship, are you allowed to work 6 hours
on 6 hours off for 7 days or more? That would be 84 hours of work that
week and you would therefore get 84 hours of rest - minimum rest is ok
(>77). However that would also be 7 hours OVER the 7 day maximum of
77 hours. Somebody read somewhere that the flag state decides whether
they will adopt the minimum hours of rest or maximum hours of work and
that the MCA does comply with MINIMUM hours of REST only and DON'T
adopt the MAXIMUM hours of WORK. What about other flags? But there
seems to be some confusion over this area. Exceptions exist but it's all
rather hazy. Any thoughts? Richard