Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
MARITIME INDUSTRY AUTHORITY

MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. SC-2023-01

Series of 2023

TO All Shipowners, Operators, Managers and Seafarers of Philippine-

registered Ships engaged in the international trade, Recognized
Organizations and all concerned

SUBJECT RULES AND REGULATIONS ON SEAFARERS' REQUIRED

HOURS OF REST FOR PHILIPPINE-REGISTERED SHIPS
ENGAGED IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Pursuant to the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training,

Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 1978, as amended (1978 STCW
Convention, as amended); Republic Act No. 10635 and its 2022 IRR, and MARINA
Circular No. 2018-03, as amended, the following rules on hours of rest periods
onboard Philippine-registered ships in the international trade are hereby provided:

I. OBJECTIVES

1. To prevent fatigue that may lead to the occurrence of incidents/accidents at

sea;

2. To regulate the rest periods for watchkeeping personnel and those whose
duties involved designated safety, security and prevention of pollution duties in
accordance with the provisions of Section A-VII 111 of the STCW Code; and

3. To ensure that the ship is safely manned so that the provisions related to hours
of rest are met.

II. COVERAGE

This Circular shall apply to shipping companies and seafarers onboard Philippine-
registered ships in international trade including ships issued with a special permit
for temporary utilization for overseas trade.

III. DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Fatigue is a state of feeling tired, weary, or sleepy that results from prolonged
mental or physical work, extended periods of anxiety, exposure to harsh
environments, or loss of sleep;

MARINA Building Tel. Nos: (632) 523-9078 I 526-0971

20th Street corner Bonifacio Drive Fax No: (632) 524-2895
1018 Port Area (South), Manila Website: www.marina.gov.ph
 2. Flag-state inspection refers to the function of the Maritime Administration to
inspect a ship under the flag to ensure that it maintains compliance with the
requirements of the applicable national and international regulations in
accordance with MC No. MS-2020-02, as amended;

3. Hours of rest is a continuous period of at least one hour outside of working

hours that the employee is free to use;

4. Maritime Administration refers to the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA);

5. Recognized Organization (RO) refers to an organization that has been

assessed by the Maritime Administration and have complied with the
Recognized Organizations (RO) Code and the provision of MC No. 2018-01,
as amended, and has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the
Maritime Administration;

6. Safety Management System (SMS) refers to a structured and documented

system enabling the shipping company personnel to effectively implement the
company safety and environmental protection policy;

7. Seafarer refers to any person employed or engaged or works in any capacity

onboard Philippine-registered ships;

8. Ship refers to a Philippine-registered ship; and

9. Shipping company refers to the owner of the ship or any other organization or
person, such as the manager or bareboat charterer, who has assumed the
responsibility for the operation of the ship from the shipowner and who on
assuming such responsibility has agreed to take over all the duties and
responsibilities imposed under this Circular.

IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Regulation Vil1/1 of the STCW Convention, 1978, as amended, requires that

watch systems are so arranged that the efficiency of all watchkeeping
personnel is not impaired by fatigue and that duties are so organized that the
first watch at the commencement of a voyage and subsequent relieving
watches are sufficiently rested and otherwise fit for duty;

2. Section A-V1l1/1of the STCW Code requires that all persons who are assigned
duty as officer in charge of a watch or as a rating forming part of a watch and
those whose duties involve designated safety, prevention of pollution and
security duties shall be provided with a rest period;

3. The Maritime Administration recognizes the danger posed by fatigue to

seafarers, especially those whose duties involve the safe and secure operation
of a ship;

Page 2 of 6
 4. The provisions of this Circular shall be subjected to flag-state inspection and
enforcement functions of the Maritime Administration;

5. Recognized Organizations are mandated to implement this Circular's

provisions in the SMS Audit of shipping companies and Philippine-registered
ships and to report non-compliance to the Maritime Administration through the
Maritime Safety Service; and

6. The Shipping Company, Master, and seafarers shall be responsible for the
compliance of this Circular.

V. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. All seafarers who are assigned duty as officer in charge of a watch or as rating
forming part of a watch and those whose duties involve designated safety,
prevention of pollution and security duties shall be provided with a rest period
of not less than:

a. a minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period; and

b. 77 hours in any 7-day period;

2. The hours of rest may be divided into no more than two periods, of which shall
be at least 6 hours in length, and the intervals between consecutive periods of
rest shall not exceed 14 hours;

3. The requirements for rest periods under Item Nos. 1 and 2 of this Section need
not be maintained in case of an emergency or in other overriding operational
conditions. Musters, fire-fighting and lifeboat drills, and drills required by the
Maritime Administration, national laws and regulations and by international
instruments, shall be conducted in a manner that minimizes the disturbance of
rest periods and does not induce fatigue;

4. When a seafarer is on call, such as when a machinery space is unattended, the

seafarer shall have an adequate compensatory rest period if the normal period
of rest is disturbed by call-outs to work.

In an emergency or when unforeseen events, and in cases wherein

unavoidable changes to the schedule of rest hours occur, records should reflect
all deviations from the hours of rest schedule;

5. The Master or the authorized person shall be responsible for ensuring that
records of seafarers' daily hours of rest shall be maintained in a standardized
format as prescribed under Annex "A", in the working language or in English, to
allow monitoring and verification of compliance with the provisions of this
Section. The seafarers shall receive a copy of the records pertaining to them,
which shall be endorsed by the Master or by a person authorized by the Master
and by the seafarers.

Page 3 of 6
 Records referred under Item No.5, seafarer's daily hours of rest, shall be kept
and be available on board for at least 6 months after they have been completed.
Further, records of seafarers' hours of rest shall be kept by the shipping
company for a minimum of 3 years. The Maritime Administration may at all
times require access to documentation confirming the seafarers' registration of
hours of rest;

6. The shipping company shall establish watch schedules to be posted where they
are easily accessible and visible. The watch schedules shall be established in
the working language or languages of the ship and in English, as applicable.

The shipping company shall likewise observe the principles of safe manning
prescribed by the IMD Resolution A.1047 (27), and its future amendment;

7. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to impair the right of the Master of a
ship to require a seafarer to perform any hours of work 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. Accordingly, the
Master may suspend the schedule of hours of rest and require a seafarer to
perform any hours of work necessary until the normal situation has been
restored. As soon as practicable after the normal situation has been restored,
the Master shall ensure that any seafarers who have performed work in a
scheduled rest period are provided with an adequate period of rest;

8. Exceptions from the required hours of rest under Item Nos. 1.b and 2 of this
Section shall be allowed provided, that the rest period is not less than 70 hours
in any 7-day period. Exceptions from the weekly rest period provided for in Item
No. 1.b of this Section shall not be allowed for more than two consecutive
weeks. The intervals between two periods of exceptions on board shall not be
less than twice the duration of the exception. The hours of rest provided for in
Item No. 1.a of this Section may be divided into no more than three periods,
one of which shall be at least 6 hours in length and neither of the other two
periods shall be less than one hour in length. The intervals between
consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours. Exceptions shall not
extend beyond two 24-hour periods in any 7-day period; and

9. Shipping companies shall ensure that proper guidance is provided on the

management of fatigue, its impact on safety and the regulation of hours of work
and rest. Said guidance shall be included as part of the Safety Management
System (SMS). The SMS should have a clear guidance to Masters on the
actions to be taken in the event of non-conformance. Addressing non-
conformance shall include the suspension of operations until seafarers are
properly rested.

Page 4 of 6
VI. SANCTIONS, FINES AND PENALTIES

Violation of Item Nos. 1 and 2 of Section V found during flag-state inspection, which
does not fall under the exceptions provided for under Item No. 8 of Section V of this
Circular, shall, after the observance of due process, be sanctioned as follows:

Fines and Penalties

1st Offense 2nd and Succeeding Offense

Shipping Company $3,000.00 $5,000.00

Master $1,500.00 $3,000.00

VII. REPEALING CLAUSE

Rules and regulations issued by the Maritime Administration prior to the effectivity of
this Circular are hereby repealed.

VIII. EFFECTIVITY
This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official
Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines and a copy filed with
the UP Law Center.

Manila, PhilippinefEB G ~ ~23.

By the Authority of the MARINA Board

ATTY.
e ~.,b..:
NI ~ABIA
strator

SECRETARY'S CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that Memorandum Circular No. SC-2023-01

I has been approved
by the MARINA Board during its Special Board Meeting held on 02 February 2023.

Date of publication:
Date of submission to ONAR:

Page 5 of 6
 ANNEX "A"
RECORD OF HOURS OF REST

Name of Ship: _ IMO NumlJar (if an.,):. _

Seafarer (lull name: _ Positj,on/Rank:
MonthlYear: _ Watchkeeper: --:-:Yes-O;='-:-:NO-:-;=O==;-:(C"CCh:-oc""kC""":as
appropriate)

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