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Hours of rest checklist — MLC and STCW
Rest-hour findings are hard to argue once the records are on the table, because an inspector does not read the rest record on its own — they rebuild it from the logs, permits and drill sheets you already keep. Run the same reconstruction first. Progress saves in this browser and prints as a PDF for the vessel's file.
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1. The record itself
What has to exist before anything can be judged plausible.
2. The four limits, checked
Run these against the last 14 days for each seafarer, not just the current week.
3. Cross-checks an inspector will make
The record has to survive comparison with the rest of the ship's paperwork.
4. Patterns that flag risk before a breach
Compliant on paper is not the same as rested. These are the leading indicators.
5. Planning the schedule so it holds
6. Non-conformities and compensatory rest
7. Before a PSC or MLC inspection
Stop rebuilding this checklist every year.
Full Ahead Maritime keeps every item above as a live record against your vessels — due dates, responsible officer, attached evidence and a tamper-evident history an auditor can read. It works offline at sea and syncs when the link returns.
Keep your results
Have this sent to you, with what usually comes next.
The checklist as a pre-inspection reconstruction you can run on one vessel, plus the cross-checks an inspector makes between the rest record and the ship's own logs.
- Now: the checklist and the four rest limits it tests against.
- Day 3: the record contradictions that turn a review into a finding, and how to catch them first.
- Day 8: scoring work-and-rest patterns across a fleet — without a wearable on a single crew member.
Common questions
What are the minimum hours of rest under MLC and STCW?
Minimum rest is 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period. The 10 hours may be split into no more than two periods, one of which must be at least 6 hours, and the interval between consecutive rest periods must not exceed 14 hours. STCW applies the same limits to watchkeepers; MLC allows a flag-approved alternative of maximum hours of work (14 in 24, 72 in 7).
Who checks rest-hour records during an inspection?
Port State Control officers routinely sample rest records against other evidence on board — the deck and engine logs, bunkering and cargo operation times, drill records, gangway watch lists and work permits. Inconsistency between those sources is what turns a record review into a finding.
What makes a rest-hour record implausible to an inspector?
Records that show full rest during a period when the same person signed a bunkering log, ran a drill, held a watch or closed a permit to work. Also identical patterns repeated across a whole crew, rest recorded in blocks that never breach by a single minute, and no non-conformity ever raised in port.
When can rest hours be exceeded?
The master may suspend the rest schedule for the immediate safety of the ship, persons or cargo, or to give assistance to other ships or persons in distress. Compensatory rest must then be given as soon as practicable and the circumstances recorded. Drills must be arranged to minimise disturbance of rest periods.
Do you need wearables to manage fatigue?
No. Everything below is reconstructed from records the ship already keeps. Full Ahead Maritime scores work-and-rest patterns from those records and does not use biometrics or wearables on crew.
Rest-hour and fatigue rule changes, in plain language
MLC amendments, PSC campaign focus and flag guidance — short, and only when it matters.