Hours of rest and alcohol limits

MGN 566

What is current hours of rest?

The minimum hours of rest shall be not less than:

(a) 10 hours in any 24-hour period; and

(b) 77 hours in any 7-day period.
2 periods, one of which must be at least
The daily hours of rest may be divided into no more than

6 hours long and the interval between periods of rest must be no more than 14 hours.
What regulations govern hours of rest in UK ships?
MLC 2006 and STCW 2010 regulations

Are they different?

They are similar with only difference being that MLC allows collective bargain agreement to deviate
from normal hours of rest but STCW doesnt.

So, what should you comply with?

On UK ships, since the UK is a signatory to both STCW and to MLC, MCA will only consider exceptions
which comply both with the requirements of the MLC and which comply with the limitations in the
STCW Code.

What are the limitations to deviate from hours of rest under STCW?
Weekly rest

Where an exception is approved:

1. Seafarers must receive a minimum of 70 hours rest in any 7-day period;

2. Exceptions from the normal weekly rest period (77 hours) shall not be allowed for more than

2 consecutive weeks;
3. The intervals between 2 periods of exceptions on board shall not be less than twice the
duration of the exception. (which means that if the ship uses one week exception then the
next exception cannot be used for next 2 weeks)

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Daily rest

Where an exception is approved:

1. the 10 hours of rest required in any 24 hours period may be divided into no more than 3
periods, one of which shall be at least 6 hours in length and neither of the other two
periods shall be less than 1 hour in length;
14 hours;
2. the intervals between consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed

3. Exceptions shall not extend beyond two 24-hour periods in any 7-day period.
4. Exceptions shall, as far as possible, consider the guidance regarding prevention of fatigue.

Apart from emergencies when else can you deviate from hours of rest?
A provision in STCW states that the minimum rest periods need not be maintained in the case of an
emergency or in other overriding operational conditions.
In observing the rest period requirements, overriding operational conditions should be construed
to mean only essential shipboard work which cannot be delayed for safety, security or
environmental reasons or which could not reasonably have been anticipated at the commencement
of the voyage.

MCA interprets this to mean that a planned passage under pilotage or the additional work due to
cargo operations during a scheduled port call unless bad weather or unexpected port delays
disrupt normal schedules to an unforeseen extent cannot be considered to be overriding
operational conditions which would justify a breach of minimum hours of rest.

What are the current alcohol limits under UK law for seafarers?
The UK amended its existing alcohol limits, contained within the Railways and Transport Safety Act
2003, to bring them into line with the Manila amendments through the Merchant Shipping (Alcohol)
(Prescribed Limits Amendment) Regulations 2015. These apply to professional mariners on all UK-
flagged ships and to any ship operating in UK waters.

The limits for alcohol in the blood prescribed in UK legislation are expressed differently and the table
below sets out the STCW and UK limits in both notations to show how they correspond.

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