Seafarers' Work & Rest Hours Tracker: MLC 2006, STCW & OPA 90

Q: What are the core statutory rest hour requirements under MLC 2006 and STCW 2010?

A minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period. Rest may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which must be at least 6 consecutive hours, and intervals between rest periods must not exceed 14 hours.

Q: What is the STCW Manila Exception and when can it be legally applied?

The Manila Exception allows weekly rest to be reduced to 70 hours for no more than 2 consecutive weeks, requiring a subsequent recovery period of at least twice the duration of the exception.

Q: What specific work hour limitations apply to tankers under US OPA 90?

Under US OPA 90 (46 CFR Part 15), tanker personnel navigating US waters are limited to a maximum of 15 hours of work in any 24-hour period and 36 hours in any rolling 72-hour window.

Q: How should non-conformities be recorded in the logbook to avoid PSC deficiencies?

Non-conformities must be accompanied by an official operational remark explaining the emergency or unscheduled reason for the deviation, followed by documented compensatory rest as soon as operations normalize.

Q: Who is required to endorse the monthly timesheet, and when must a copy be given to the crew?

The monthly record must be signed by the seafarer and counter-signed by the Master with the ship's stamp. An endorsed copy must be provided to the crew member at the end of each month.

Vessel Particulars & Reporting Period

Vessel Name

IMO Number

Flag State

Master (Full Name)

Accounting Month

Accounting Year

Regulatory Compliance Regime

MLC 2006 & STCW Standard STANDARD

• Min 10h rest in any 24-hour period.
• Min 77h rest in any rolling 7-day period.
• Max 2 rest periods (one must be ≥ 6h).
• Interval between rest periods ≤ 14h.

STCW Manila Exception REG VIII/1.9

• Allows 7-day rest reduction down to 70h.
• Max 2 consecutive weeks of exception.
• Interval between exceptions ≥ 2x exception duration.

US OPA 90 (Tankers in US Waters) USCG

• Max 15 hours work in any 24-hour period.
• Max 36 hours work in any rolling 72-hour period.

Ship's Crew List (Active in Selected Month)

Seafarer Profile & Contract Status

Full Name

Rank / Position

Date Joined Vessel (Embarkation)

Watchkeeping Duty

Base Normal Hours (hrs/day)

Overtime Rate ($/hr)

Standard Working Arrangement Schedule (Model Form):

At Sea: — In Port: —

Hours of Work & Rest: Day 1

Work Rest

00:00 (Ship's Midnight) Click or drag across hours to mark work / rest 24:00

Presets:

Official Remarks / Justification for Deviation (Mandatory Remarks)

Quick reasons:

Work (Today)

0.0 hours

Rest (Today)

24.0 hours

Overtime (Today)

0.0 hrs · $0.00

Rolling 7-Day Rest

168.0 hours

Monthly Record of Hours & Compliance Ledger

Day	Work	Rest	Overtime	7-Day Rest	Status	Remarks / Reason for Deviation

Maritime Compliance Hub MLC 2006 // STCW 2010 • US OPA 90

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Seafarers' Hours of Work and Rest: Statutory Auditing Under MLC 2006, STCW 2010 & US OPA 90

Auditing shipboard fatigue management and maintaining verified records of seafarers' daily hours is a primary statutory obligation under Standard A2.3 of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006), Section A-VIII/1 of the STCW 2010 Code, and the United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90 / 46 CFR Part 15). Non-compliances such as inadequate rest intervals, broken sleep periods, and unrecorded overtime trigger serious deficiencies and vessel detentions during Port State Control (PSC) inspections (Paris MoU, Tokyo MoU, USCG) and commercial vetting audits under OCIMF SIRE 2.0.

The NavLib Watchkeeper Pro application streamlines shipboard compliance logging. Bridge and engine room teams can manage the active Crew List, plot daily schedules on an interactive 48-slot timeline, detect regulatory non-conformities across rolling 24-hour and 7-day windows, evaluate monthly overtime costs, and export verified records via an isolated print engine formatted to official IMO/ILO Model Form specifications in A4 landscape layout.

Compliance Auditing

Multi-Regime Verification Engine

Automated auditing across three regulatory frameworks: standard MLC/STCW (min 10h rest in 24h, 77h per 7 days), STCW Manila Exception (70h per week), and US OPA 90 (max 36h work per 72h).

Duty Rosters

Shipboard Working Arrangements

Generate and print official Table of Working Arrangements schedules detailing designated watchkeeping and day-worker shifts for both At Sea and In Port operational states.

Official Documents

IMO/ILO Model Form A4 Print

Isolated landscape A4 printing of monthly individual seafarer records, batch printing for the entire crew complement, and seamless JSON data backup.

Frequently Asked Questions: Seafarers' Work & Rest Hours (FAQ)

What are the core statutory rest hour requirements under MLC 2006 and STCW 2010?

Under MLC 2006 Standard A2.3 and STCW Section A-VIII/1, the minimum rest parameters are:

A minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period;
A minimum of 77 hours of rest in any rolling 7-day period;
Daily rest may be divided into no more than 2 periods, one of which must be at least 6 consecutive hours in length;
The interval between consecutive periods of rest must not exceed 14 hours.

What is the STCW Manila Exception and when can it be legally applied?

Under STCW Section A-VIII/1 (Paragraph 9), national flag administrations may permit collective exceptions:

The weekly rest limit may be reduced from 77 to 70 hours;
Such exceptions are limited to no more than 2 consecutive weeks;
The interval between two periods of exception must be at least twice the duration of the exception (e.g., following a 2-week exception, the crew must observe at least 4 weeks under standard 77-hour rules).

What specific work hour limitations apply to tankers under US OPA 90?

The United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (46 U.S. Code § 8104 and 46 CFR § 15.1111) imposes maximum work hour limits for personnel on tank vessels navigating US waters:

A maximum of 15 hours of work in any 24-hour period;
A maximum of 36 hours of work in any rolling 72-hour period.

US Coast Guard (USCG) inspectors strictly verify OPA 90 logs, and infractions can result in heavy civil penalties and cargo discharge suspensions.

How should non-conformities be recorded in the logbook to avoid PSC deficiencies?

MLC 2006 permits emergency deviations strictly for immediate ship safety, lifesaving, or unscheduled port operations. When a non-conformity occurs:

A mandatory operational remark must be entered against that date (e.g., "Emergency steering gear maintenance" or "Unscheduled mooring operations due to berth congestion");
As soon as practical after normal operations resume, seafarers must be granted an adequate compensatory rest period, which must also be documented in the ledger.

Who is required to endorse the monthly timesheet, and when must a copy be given to the crew?

At the close of each calendar month (or upon crew sign-off), the monthly record of hours must be endorsed by both the seafarer and the Master (or an authorized officer) with the official ship's stamp. Under MLC 2006 guidelines, a verified endorsed copy must be provided directly to the seafarer, while the original record must be retained on board for at least one year for inspection by Port State Control.

Regulations: MLC 2006 Standard A2.3, STCW 2010 Section A-VIII/1, US OPA 90 (46 CFR 15)

Inspections: PSC (Paris/Tokyo MoU, USCG), Flag State Administration, OCIMF SIRE 2.0

Print Engine: Strict A4 Landscape Layout, IMO/ILO Model Form (RU / EN)

Work & Rest Hours Tracker

Watchkeeper Pro

Seafarers' Hours of Work and Rest: Statutory Auditing Under MLC 2006, STCW 2010 & US OPA 90

Frequently Asked Questions: Seafarers' Work & Rest Hours (FAQ)

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