MLC 2006 rest hours, explained for the crew who have to log them

What the rules actually say

The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (Standard A2.3) sets minimum rest for seafarers. Flag states apply either a maximum-hours-of-work or a minimum-hours-of-rest regime; most yachts and commercial vessels record rest. The rest regime has six tests that every day is checked against.

• At least 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period.
• At least 77 hours of rest in any 7-day period.
• Rest may be split into no more than two periods in any 24 hours.
• One of those periods must be at least 6 hours long.
• The gap between consecutive rest periods must not exceed 14 hours.
• Exceptions (drills, emergencies) must be recorded and compensatory rest given.

What a compliant day looks like

A watchkeeper on a 4-on/8-off rotation gets two 8-hour rest blocks: passes. A deckhand who works 06:00–14:00, rests 14:00–18:00, works 18:00–23:00 and rests 23:00–06:00 has two rest periods (4 h and 7 h = 11 h, one ≥ 6 h): passes. Add a 01:00 anchor watch in the middle of that night and the long rest splits in two — now three periods in 24 hours: fails.

Where crews usually fall foul

• Guest turnaround days — a 16-hour day breaks the 14-hour gap rule even if total rest is fine.
• Split night watches that turn one rest period into two short ones.
• Logging a whole week on Sunday from memory — the record is legal evidence, and reconstructed weeks rarely survive a port state inspection.
• Not recording drills as work.

Keeping the record without the spreadsheet

The practical answer is to log each day the same day, on a phone, and let software run the six checks. In iVessel each crew member enters their rest strip in under a minute; the day is marked pass or fail with the rule it failed, the captain sees a fleet overview of who is non-compliant, and the monthly record sheet exports as a PDF in the standard layout. It works offline and syncs later, which matters when you are the one on watch.

Checklist for a compliant setup

• Decide which regime your flag applies (rest or work hours).
• Set the vessel's normal watch pattern so exceptions stand out.
• Log daily, not weekly.
• Record drills and emergencies as work, with compensatory rest noted.
• Export and sign the monthly sheet; keep 12 months on board.

Keep rest-hour records in iVessel — and pass the inspection

iVessel has a Rest Hours log built for MLC and STCW. Each crew member records their day on a half-hour grid — tap the hours worked, the rest is filled in — from their own phone, on board, in under a minute.

• Every entry is checked live against the six rules: 10 hours' rest in any 24, 77 in any 7 days, no more than two rest periods, one of at least 6 hours, no more than 14 hours between rest periods, and the 72-hour work limit. A breach is flagged in plain English before it is saved, so the captain sees the problem the same day, not at the inspection.
• The week view shows every crew member's seven days side by side with running 72-hour and 77-hour totals and a red mark on any day that breaches, so the master can rebalance watches before it becomes a finding.
• Records are stored on the boat's account with the crew member's name and the time of entry — nothing is lost when crew change, and nothing lives on one person's phone.
• The report view produces the MLC-format table of hours of rest for any date range, per crew member, ready to print or save as PDF for Port State Control, the flag state or a charter audit.
• Works offline at sea and syncs when you are back in range. iOS, Android and web.

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