Relevant documents and M-notices: STCW convention, Maritime Labour Convention, MGN 505, MSC Circ.1598, MSN 1877, The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018, MSN 1838, The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Employment of Young Persons) Regulations 1998
Questions on hours of rest are common at all levels of MCA deck oral exam. This is because they are hugely important; figures vary between 25% and 35% but it’s widely acknowledged that fatigue is often a contributing causal factor in marine accidents.
What’s the legal basis for hours of rest?
These are embedded in the STCW and Maritime Labour Conventions and made into UK law under the Merchant Shipping (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018 (all quotes in this article, unless stated otherwise, are from these regulations).
Who do the regulations apply to?
They apply to UK-flagged vessels wherever they are, and to non-UK flagged vessels when they are sailing in UK waters.
They do not apply to:
fishing vessels
pleasure vessels
offshore installations whilst on their working stations
tugs which ordinarily do not go beyond the limits of waters of certain categories; this covers up to tidal rivers and estuaries where the significant wave height could not be expected to exceed 2 metres at any time
Hours of work or hours of rest?
The law is expressed in terms of minimum hours of rest, not maximum hours of work.
The STCW Convention requires that minimum hours of rest are established, and that records are kept of hours of rest; the Maritime Labour Convention requires that maximum hours of work or minimum hours of rest are established, and that records are kept of either hours of work or hours of rest.
The regulations, by going with the minimum hours of rest option, complies with both, and I’d recommend you stick with referring to minimum hours of rest when answering questions on the topic.
How do we define ‘work’ and ‘rest’?
“hours of rest” means time outside hours of work and does not include short breaks
“hours of work” means time during which a seafarer is required to do work on the business of the ship
Hours of rest don’t mean time that you were sleeping, or lying down; they include any time (other than short breaks) when you weren’t working.
What about on-call time?
From MSN 1877:
On-Call Time is not counted as “hours of work” unless the seafarer is required to work during that time.
A seafarer who is on call on board ship shall have an adequate compensatory rest period if his normal period of rest is disturbed by call-outs to work.