A rest-hour record is not proof that a seafarer has actually rested. A watchkeeper may be called back to the engine room. A deck rating may be assigned additional work during a port call. A cruise ship employee may have a short gap between two shifts, only to lose it to an emergency drill. If these interruptions are not recorded, the official hours-of-rest report can give a misleading picture of fatigue risk.
For seafarers who work rotating watches, split shifts and unpredictable port operations, understanding the rules is more than a paperwork exercise. This guide explains the basic requirements under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) and the STCW Convention, offers worked shift examples, and shows how to raise a concern safely.
Because ships operate under different flags and collective agreements, use this guide to check your position—not as a replacement for your ship’s applicable legal requirements, Safety Management System, Seafarers’ Employment Agreement (SEA), or onboard complaint procedure.
Start With a Five-Minute Rest-Hours Check
Before reviewing a monthly timesheet, ask these questions:
- Have I recorded every period of actual work, including drills, unscheduled maintenance and call-outs?
- For a rest-based regime, do I have at least 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period?
- Where applicable, do I have at least 77 hours of rest in any seven-day period?
- Are the rest periods normally divided into no more than two parts, with at least one of them six hours long?
- Is any scheduled rest that I lost to work reflected correctly in the record?
- Am I alert and fit for the safety-critical tasks I am about to perform?
If an answer is unclear, do not simply change the form to make the figures look compliant. Check the actual timeline with the responsible officer and the ship’s procedures.
MLC and STCW: Similar Figures, Different Legal Roles
The MLC sets international standards for seafarers’ living and working conditions. Under MLC Standard A2.3, a member State establishes either a maximum-hours-of-work system or a minimum-hours-of-rest system within prescribed limits. The key parameters are a maximum of 14 hours of work in any 24 hours and 72 hours in any seven days, or at least 10 hours of rest in any 24 hours and 77 hours in any seven days. The applicable national rules determine which basis is used.
STCW Code Section A-VIII/1 has specific rest requirements for officers and ratings forming part of a watch and other personnel assigned designated safety, security or pollution-prevention duties. The basic requirement is at least 10 hours’ rest in 24 hours and 77 hours in seven days, subject to defined exceptional provisions.
These are not two interchangeable checklists. For example, a repeated 12-hour workday produces 84 hours of work and 84 hours of rest over seven days. It satisfies the basic 77-hour weekly rest figure, but it exceeds the MLC weekly work maximum if the applicable national system uses the 72-hour work limit. Watchkeeping and relevant safety duties may also trigger STCW obligations. Always check which laws and rules apply to your ship and job.
What Counts as Work and What Counts as Rest?
The MLC describes work as time when a seafarer is required to perform duties for the ship. Rest means time outside work; short breaks are excluded from the definition of rest. This matters when a seafarer is permitted a quick meal or a few minutes to sit down while remaining responsible for an operation.
Actual duties can include bridge or engine watchkeeping, maintenance, gangway and security work, cleaning, mandatory safety duties, technical repairs, and tasks performed during an unexpected call-out. Their treatment should reflect applicable rules and the work that was actually required.
Not every minute spent awake is work. Conversely, time designated as ‘rest’ on a printed roster is not automatically rest when the seafarer was performing assigned duties. Records should describe reality rather than a planned timetable.
Calculate a Rolling 24-Hour Period, Not Just Midnight to Midnight
A common error is to total the hours from 00:00 to 24:00 and stop there. The phrase any 24-hour period calls for attention to periods that cross calendar-day boundaries. Consider the time around watch handovers, late call-outs, split shifts or duties that begin near midnight.
Keep your work and rest timeline in chronological order using the ship’s time. Test the periods around changes in duty and rest, not merely the rows of a calendar. Then repeat the check across every relevant seven-day window. A trustworthy electronic system can help, but correct data entry remains essential.
This is particularly important for crews on 00:00 or 04:00 watches, port-intensive routes, passenger ships with late-night services, and ships where a small team covers several responsibilities.
Example One: Ten Hours a Day Can Still Fail the Weekly Test
Imagine the same schedule is worked every day for seven days:
| Ship’s time | Activity | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00–06:00 | Work | 6 |
| 06:00–12:00 | Rest | 6 |
| 12:00–20:00 | Work | 8 |
| 20:00–24:00 | Rest | 4 |
The daily total is 14 hours of work and 10 hours of rest, split into six-hour and four-hour rest periods. At first glance the minimum daily rest seems to be met. But repeated for a full week, the schedule generates only 70 hours of rest and 98 hours of work.
Seventy hours is below the basic 77-hour weekly rest requirement; 98 hours also exceeds the 72-hour weekly work maximum in a regime based on that limit. This example shows why meeting one daily figure is not proof of compliance across a week.
Example Two: A Repeated Roster That Meets the Basic Figures
Now consider a regular schedule with two rest blocks:
| Ship’s time | Activity | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00–05:00 | Work | 5 |
| 05:00–12:00 | Rest | 7 |
| 12:00–17:00 | Work | 5 |
| 17:00–24:00 | Rest | 7 |
That equals 10 working hours and 14 rest hours per day. Over a consistent seven-day period, the totals become 70 hours of work and 98 hours of rest. The two rest blocks are both longer than six hours.
Provided no additional work interrupts this pattern and all other relevant rules are satisfied, it meets the basic limits described above. It is an illustration—not a recommended standard roster for every ship, department or watchkeeping function. Required manning, voyage demands and other safety obligations must be assessed separately.
What If You Are Called Back During Your Sleep?
Unplanned call-outs may arise during unmanned machinery-space operations, security incidents, breakdowns, medical emergencies or port work. If a crew member performs work during a scheduled rest period, the timeline should reflect that interruption.
Suppose an engineer is rostered to rest from 20:00 until 02:00, but must work on an alarm from 23:00 until 00:30. That 90-minute call-out is work, not uninterrupted rest. The original six-hour rest entry no longer describes what happened.
STCW includes provisions for adequate compensatory rest when normal rest is disturbed by call-outs; the MLC also addresses the rest owed after certain disturbances and emergencies. The company must consider how to restore safe rest in accordance with applicable rules. Do not enter compensatory rest before it has actually been taken.
Drills, Port Operations and Emergencies
Fire drills, abandon-ship exercises and other required drills are essential to safety. They should nevertheless be scheduled to minimize disruption to rest and avoid fatigue. If a drill or safety duty interrupts your rest, report the actual duration according to ship procedures.
The master has authority to require work necessary for the immediate safety of the ship, people on board or cargo, or to assist people or vessels in distress. Relevant rules recognize that established rest schedules may need temporary adjustment in such circumstances. Adequate rest must be arranged as soon as practicable after normal conditions return.
An exceptional emergency is different from a permanent practice of covering insufficient staffing with extra hours. Routine work pressure should be handled through staffing, risk assessment, scheduling and the ship’s safety processes, rather than by making the records look better than the operational reality.
How to Maintain an Accurate Personal Work-and-Rest Log
A simple private record can make it easier to check the official monthly report. Respect confidentiality and information-security rules; there is usually no need to copy operational secrets or other crew members’ personal data.
- Date and ship’s time: the exact beginning and end of work and rest periods.
- Type of duty: watchkeeping, cargo operation, maintenance, drill, cleaning, or call-out.
- Rest interruptions: start and finish times of duties performed during planned rest.
- Roster changes: the change communicated and the actual work performed.
- Record correction: a factual note of any discrepancy raised and how it was resolved.
MLC provisions require work-or-rest records in a standard format and copies of the records concerning the individual seafarer, endorsed by the seafarer and the master or an authorized person as prescribed. Compare them with your actual working pattern before signing.
If the entries are inaccurate, request correction through the official procedure. Avoid signing a record you know is false without raising the issue and asking how to document the disagreement. Retain appropriate copies of your own records securely.
Fatigue Is a Safety Concern, Not Just an Administrative Problem
The International Transport Workers’ Federation identifies impaired attention, slower responses, poor judgment, reduced coordination and difficulty staying awake among warning signs of fatigue. These symptoms can have severe consequences during bridge watchkeeping, machinery work, mooring operations, lifting operations, work at height and other safety-critical activities.
If you believe you are too fatigued to perform a task safely, tell the responsible officer or supervisor promptly. Explain the facts: when you last rested, any interruptions, the hours already worked and the nature of the next assignment. Ask for a risk assessment, suitable task adjustment, relief or additional rest through the vessel’s safety process.
Do not wait for an accident before reporting a serious loss of alertness. At the same time, follow emergency safety procedures and communicate your limitations clearly to those directing the response.
If Someone Pressures You to Change the Record
ITF highlights inaccurate and falsified hours-of-rest records as a safety problem because they conceal fatigue. A recorded rest period that did not happen cannot help a supervisor make a sound fatigue-risk assessment.
Under MLC Regulation 5.1.5 and Standard A5.1.5, ships within the Convention’s scope must provide procedures for complaints about possible breaches of seafarers’ rights. The rules include protections against victimization and preserve access to the master and appropriate external authorities where needed.
- Review the onboard complaint procedure, the displayed work schedule, the SEA and applicable DMLC documents.
- Ask the supervisor or responsible officer to correct the specific date and time entry.
- If the issue is unresolved, follow the procedure for escalation to the master, shore management or the designated complaint contact.
- Where necessary, seek independent help from a seafarers’ union, an ITF inspector or the appropriate flag-State or port-State authority.
Handle personal information and records carefully. Avoid public accusations or sharing restricted vessel documents online. Where there are concerns about retaliation or immediate danger, seek confidential advice and use the relevant safety and complaint routes.
A Short English Message You Can Adapt
Subject: Request to Review Recorded Hours of Rest
Dear Supervisor, I would like to request a review of my hours-of-rest record for [date]. My scheduled rest was interrupted by duty from [start time] to [end time]. Please help me correct the record and review the next duty period so I can carry out my responsibilities safely. Thank you.
Keep your communication factual and specific. An informal correction request is not a substitute for formal reporting when the issue is serious or ongoing; use your ship’s complaint and safety procedures as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a seafarer always work 14 hours per day?
No. Fourteen hours is one daily maximum-work parameter in MLC Standard A2.3, not a general permission to schedule 14 hours every day. Weekly limits, minimum rest requirements for relevant personnel, and flag-State rules still apply.
Is ten hours of rest each day enough?
Not necessarily. Check the full seven-day window, the division of rest periods, and any 24-hour periods crossing midnight. In the first worked example, ten hours daily still produces an insufficient weekly rest total.
Can a call-out be recorded as rest because it was scheduled during a rest period?
No. The record should reflect work that actually took place. Applicable provisions on compensatory rest should then be considered.
Do passenger-ship and merchant-ship crews have rest-hour protections?
International maritime standards address working and resting time for seafarers, but their specific coverage and national implementation must be checked for the ship, flag and assigned duties concerned.
What can I do if my hours are recorded incorrectly?
Ask for correction through established procedures and use the formal onboard complaint channel when necessary. Keep accurate personal notes and seek appropriate independent assistance if the problem persists.
Before You Sign Your Next Rest-Hours Report
Look carefully at days when the ship was in port, a major drill took place, a colleague was absent, or an unexpected repair was required. Reconstruct the actual sequence of duty and rest, check rolling periods rather than just calendar totals, and make sure interrupted rest has not disappeared from the official log.
An accurate record will not by itself solve understaffing or poor scheduling. It does, however, provide the information needed to identify fatigue risk and plan safer work. The people who benefit are not only the seafarers completing the form, but everyone whose safety depends on a rested crew.
Read more about life and safety at sea on KapalPedia for Seafarers or see our Indonesian article on the realities of working hours on cruise ships.
Official Sources and Further Reading
- ILO — Maritime Labour Convention, Standard A2.3
- IMO — Seafarers’ Hours of Work and Rest
- ILO — On-board Complaint Procedures
- ILO — MLC FAQ, sixth edition (2026)
- ITF Seafarers — Fatigue
Editorial note: This article provides general educational information, not legal advice. Check current flag-State law, applicable collective agreements and the vessel’s procedures. Sources reviewed on 28 October 2026.
