Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) Act 2014 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 4 · Conditions of Seafarers’ Employment
16. Hours of rest
Feedback & supportEvery shipowner must ensure that every seafarer in the shipowner’s employment is given the hours of rest in accordance with this section.
shipowner
“shipowner”, in relation to a ship, means the owner of the ship, and includes —(a)the registered owner; or(b)in the absence of registration —(i)the person owning the ship; or(ii)any other person (such as the ship manager, agent or bareboat charterer) who has assumed responsibility for the operation of the ship from the owner and who, on assuming such responsibility, has agreed to take over the duties and responsibilities imposed on shipowners in accordance with the Convention, whether or not any other organisation or person fulfils certain of the duties or responsibilities on the shipowner’s behalf;
The minimum hours of rest are 10 hours in any 24‑hour period and 77 hours in any 7‑day period.
hours of rest
“hours of rest” means a period during which the seafarer is free to dispose of his or her own time and movements, but does not include any short breaks and any intervals allowed during hours of work for rest and meals;
The minimum hours of rest may be divided into no more than 2 periods, one of which must be at least 6 hours in length, and the interval between consecutive periods of rest must not exceed 14 hours.
Where a seafarer is employed in work during hours of rest, he or she must be compensated with an equivalent period of rest in the next rest period, or if not possible, as soon as practicable after that.
seafarer
“seafarer” means any person, including the master, who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship, but does not include —(a)a pilot;(b)a port worker;(c)a person temporarily employed on the ship during the period it is in port; and(d)a person specified in an Order made by the Authority, with the approval of the Minister, declaring the categories of persons not to be regarded as seafarers;
A person must not cause or permit payment to be made in lieu of hours of rest.
The master must cause for every position —
master
“master” includes every person, except a pilot, having command or charge of a ship;
the schedule of service at sea and service in port;
the minimum hours of rest required by this Act; and
all other information on working arrangements that may be required by the Director from time to time,to be displayed in English and the working language or languages of the ship using such format as may be prescribed by the Authority and posted in an easily accessible place on board the ship.
The master must maintain a record of each seafarer’s daily hours of rest on board the ship, which must —
ship
“ship” has the meaning given by the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, but does not include —(a)any vessel which navigates exclusively in inland waters or waters within, or closely adjacent to, sheltered waters or areas where the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (Port) Regulations apply;(b)any warship or naval auxiliary;(c)any ship engaged in fishing or in similar pursuits;(d)any ship of traditional build such as dhows and junks;(e)any ship that is intended to be operated without any seafarer on board; and(f)any ship specified in an Order made by the Authority, with the approval of the Minister, declaring the categories of ships to be excluded from the application of this Act;
be in a standardised format that may be prescribed by the Authority; and
be in English and, if the working language of the ship is not English, also be in the working language or languages of the ship.
The master must at the end of each month cause a seafarer to be given a record of the seafarer’s daily hours of rest mentioned in subsection (7) that has been endorsed by or on behalf of the master.
The Director may, in any particular case, permit exceptions to the hours of rest set out in this section in accordance with and subject to any prescribed conditions.
Director
“Director” means the Director of Marine appointed under section 4 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and includes the Deputy Director of Marine appointed under that Act;
Nothing in this section prevents the master from suspending a seafarer’s hours of rest for the purposes of performing work that is necessary for the immediate safety of the ship, persons on board or cargo, or for the purpose of giving assistance to other ships or persons in distress at sea, provided that the seafarer is compensated with an equivalent period of rest as soon as practicable after the normal situation has been restored.
Any shipowner who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.