SN's  Work & Rest Hours Control Software  for ILO / MLC 2006 / STCW 2010 / CFR / OPA 90 / 46USC8104 + OCIMF Guidelines Method (Both Methods Certified By Lloyd's Register, London)

By U.S. law, the rules in 33 CFR Part 156 must be adhered to for lightering operations in the U.S. designated lightering zones. It may be your company's documented policy that these rules will, unless deemed unsafe, be adhered to, in any and all STS operations worldwide.

Subpart 156.205 Definitions

(a) In accordance with 46 CFR 15.1101(a)(4), REST means a period of time during which the person concerned is off duty, is not performing work, including administrative tasks such as chart corrections or preparation of port entry documents, and is allowed to sleep without being interrupted.

Subpart 156.210 General

(d) On vessels conducting lightering operations in a designated lightering zone, a licensed individual or seaman may not work, except in an emergency or a drill, more than 15 hours in any 24-hour period, or more than 36*** hours in any 72-hour period, including the 24-hour and 72-hour periods prior to commencing lightering operations.

OPA 90 – For vessels navigating in US Waters- 46 USC 8104

(a) An owner, charterer, managing operator, master, individual in charge, or other person having authority may permit an officer to take charge of the deck watch on a vessel when leaving or immediately after leaving port only if the officer has been off duty for at least 6 hours within the 12 hours immediately before the time of leaving.

(b) On an oceangoing or coastwise vessel of not more than 100 gross tons as measured under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title (except a fishing, fish processing, or fish tender vessel), a licensed individual may not be required to work more than 9 of 24 hours when in port, including the date of arrival, or more than 12 of 24 hours at sea, except in an emergency when life or property are endangered.
 
(c) On a towing vessel (except a towing vessel operated only for fishing, fish processing, fish tender, or engaged in salvage operations) operating on the Great Lakes, harbors of the Great Lakes, and connecting or tributary waters between Gary, Indiana, Duluth, Minnesota, Niagara Falls, New York, and Ogdensburg, New York, a licensed individual or seaman in the deck or engine department may not be required to work more than 8 hours in one day or permitted to work more than 15 hours in any 24-hour period, or more than 36 hours in any 72-hour period, except in an emergency when life or property are endangered.

(d) On a merchant vessel of more than 100 gross tons as measured under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title (except a vessel only operating on rivers, harbors, lakes (except the Great Lakes), bays, sounds, bayous, and canals, a fishing, fish tender, or whaling vessel, a fish processing vessel of not more than 5,000 gross tons as measured under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title, yacht, or vessel engaged in salvage operations), the licensed individuals, sailors, coal passers, firemen, oilers, and water tenders shall be divided, when at sea, into at least 3 watches, and shall be kept on duty successively to perform ordinary work incident to the operation and management of the vessel. The requirement of this subsection applies to radio officers only when at least 3 radio officers are employed. A licensed individual or seaman in the deck or engine department may not be required to work more than 8 hours in one day.

(e) On a vessel designated by subsection (d) of this section—

(f) Subsections (d) and (e) of this section do not limit the authority of the master or other officer or the obedience of the seamen when, in the judgment of the master or other officer, any part of the crew is needed for—

(h) On a vessel to which section 8904 of this title applies, an individual licensed to operate a towing vessel may not work for more than 12 hours in a consecutive 24-hour period except in an emergency.

(n) On a tanker, a licensed individual or seaman may not be permitted to work more than 15 hours in any 24-hour period, or more than 36 hours in any 72-hour period, except in an emergency or a drill. In this subsection, “work” includes any administrative duties associated with the vessel whether performed on board the vessel or onshore.

(i) A person violating subsection (a) or (b) of this section is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of $10,000.

(j) The owner, charterer, or managing operator of a vessel on which a violation of subsection (c), (d), (e), or (h) of this section occurs is liable to the Government for a civil penalty of $10,000. The seaman is entitled to discharge from the vessel and receipt of wages earned.

USCG STCW Compliance Recommendations - ref http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/policy_letters/pdfs/CVCPolicyLetterNo.2012-05HoursofRest.pdf

C.

In accordance with the 2010 amendments to the STCW Convention and Code, section AVIII/1, the following minimum hours of rest requirements should be implemented onboard vessels subject to STCW, unless already exempted in 46 CFR 15.103(e) and (f):

(1) Every person assigned duty as officer in charge of a navigational or engineering watch, or duty as a ratings forming part of a navigational or engineering watch, or designated safety, prevention of pollution, and security duties onboard any vessel that operates beyond the boundary line, as described in 46 CFR Part 7, should receive:

(2) The hours of rest, required under paragraph (c)(1), may be divided into no more than two periods in any 24-hour period, one of which should be at least 6 hours in length, 46 CFR 15.1111(b), and the interval between consecutive periods of rest should not exceed 14 hours. [STCW A-VIII/1.3.]

(3) The requirements of paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) need not be maintained in the case of an emergency or drill or in other overriding operational conditions, [46 CFR 15.1111(c)]. Musters, fire-fighting and lifeboat drills, and drills prescribed by national laws and regulations and by international instruments, should be conducted in a manner that minimizes the disturbance of rest periods and does not induce fatigue. [STCW AVIII/1.4].

(4) The minimum period of rest required under paragraph (c)(1) may not be devoted to watchkeeping or other duties, [46 CFR 15.1111(e)].

(5) Watchkeeping personnel remain subject to the work-hour limits in 46 U.S.C. 8104 and to the conditions when crew members may be required to work, [46 CFR 15.1111(f)].

(6) The master shall post watch schedules where they are easily accessible. They must cover each affected member of the crew and must take into account the rest requirements of this section as well as port rotations and changes in the vessel's itinerary, [46 CFR 15.1111(g)]. The schedules should be established in a standardized format in the working language or languages of the ship and in English. [STCW A-VIII/1.5].

(7) Records of daily hours of rest should be maintained onboard the vessel. Each affected person should receive a copy of the records pertaining to them, which should be endorsed by the master or by a person authorized by the master and by the seafarer. [STCW A-VIII/1.7].

(8) For every seafarer on call, such as when a machinery space is unattended, the seafarer should have an adequate compensatory rest period if the normal period of rest is disturbed by call-outs to work. [STCW A-VIII/1.6].

(9) The master of the vessel may suspend the schedule of hours of rest and require a seafarer to perform any hours of work necessary for the immediate safety of the ship, persons onboard, or cargo, or for the purpose of giving assistance to other ships or persons in distress at sea. As soon as practicable after the situation has been restored, the master should ensure that any seafarer who has performed work in a scheduled rest period is provided with an adequate period of rest. [STCW A-VIII/1.8].

(10) In exceptional circumstances, the master may authorize exceptions from the hours of rest required under paragraph (c)(1)(ii) provided that the rest period is not less than 70 hours in any 7-day period. These exceptions should meet the following additional requirements: 

(1) exceptions should not extend beyond two 24-hour periods in any 7-day period; 
(2) exceptions should not extend for more than two consecutive weeks; and, 
(3) the intervals between two periods of exceptions should not be less than twice the duration of the exception. [STCW A-VIII/1.9].

D.

As described in paragraph (c)(1), the 2010 amendments to the STCW Convention and Code expanded the application for hours of rest periods for mariners from persons assigned duty as officer in charge of a navigational or engineering watch, or duty as a rating forming part of a navigational or engineering watch, to include all personnel with designated safety, prevention of pollution, and security duties onboard a vessel. Personnel with designated safety, prevention of pollution, and security duties onboard a vessel include: 

(1) watchstanding personnel as assigned on the vessel’s Certificate of Inspection;
(2) all personnel with designated safety duties on board the vessel as assigned on the watch bill/station bill; 
(3) all personnel with designated prevention of pollution duties on board the vessel as assigned on the Pollution Response Plan or as identified in the Safety Management System; and, 
(4) all personnel with designated security duties on board the vessel as assigned on the Vessel Security Plan.

E.

The master, or authorized person, is responsible for ensuring that records of daily hours of rest are maintained for each seafarer serving on the ship. Owners/operators are encouraged to utilize the “Model Format for Records of Hours of Work or Hours of Rest of Seafarers” developed by the ILO and the IMO, which is included as Enclosure (1) to this policy letter. The records can be documented in the vessel logbook. Each record should be endorsed by the master or authorized person and the seafarer. A copy should be made available to the seafarer. It is recommended that records be retained onboard for each seafarer during their full time onboard or for 12 months, whichever is longer.

F.

In an emergency or when unforeseen events occur, as described in paragraphs (c)(3) and (c)(9), changes may be unavoidable. In these cases, records should reflect all deviations from the hours of rest schedule.

G.

The Coast Guard will check the ship’s documentation as part of the normal routine of vessel inspection and examination and may include a check that the appropriate schedules are posted in accordance with existing national regulations in 46 CFR 15.1111(g). As described in paragragh (4)(d), the Coast Guard will not enforce the STCW amendments to the hours of rest requirements until the national regulations are revised.

H.

Lastly, shore management has a responsibility to ensure that proper guidance is provided on the management of fatigue, its impact on safety, and the regulation of hours of work and rest. It is encouraged that this guidance is included as part of the Safety Management System (SMS). The SMS should encourage seafarers to alert their onboard managers should they be working, or be at risk of working, in non-conformance to this policy and STCW. The SMS should also provide clear guidance to masters on the actions to be taken in the event of significant non-conformance. Such action may include the suspension of operations until personnel are suitably rested. Owners/operators should also be aware of, and react to, planned or expected periods of high intensity operations
and ensure that staffing onboard is adequate in good time prior to the planned operations.

Among the many customisations, our software allows the user to enter the time of departure and the algorithms will show whether or not this regulation is breached.

*** Corresponds with OPA90 regulations

It must be noted that a ship may be detained if conditions are violated.

 << PREVIOUS PAGE          NEXT PAGE >>                                             << Top >>

HSEQ / Fleet Managers - Try our Vetting Reports Control Software