Annex G - Manning, Certification and Hours of Work

G1 - Application

(1) This Annex applies to all yachts to which the Code applies and to the certification, training and qualifications of the master, officers and crew on such yachts and their hours of work and rest.

G2 - Purpose

(2) The purpose of the provisions of this Annex are to-

(a) set out the responsibilities of the owners, masters, crew and operators of yachts with respect to safe manning;
(b) ensure that the yacht is at all times adequately manned such that all relevant safety and marine environment protection and security standards can be maintained bearing in mind the other day to day operational requirements of the yacht;
(c) ensure that all crew onboard the yacht are properly trained, certificated and qualified for the position held and the duties shall be discharged; and
(d) ensure that the master, officers and other crew members are adequately rested before assuming duties, particularly where such duties impinge on the safety of the vessel, the protection of the marine environment and security duties; and
(e) ensure that all seafarers are medically fit.

G3 - Safe Manning

General

(1) All yachts to which this Code applies shall carry, in addition to the master, a sufficient number of qualified deck and engineer officers, together with a sufficient number of appropriately qualified ratings, to ensure that the yacht can at all times be operated safely, with respect to the safety of the yacht and all persons onboard, the protection of the marine environment and maritime security.

Principles of Safe Manning

(2) In assessing the appropriate safe manning level for a yacht due regard shall be given to:

(a) IMO Resolution A.1047(27) (as amended from time to time) which defines the principles of safe manning necessary to ensure the safe operation of ship and the prevention of pollution of the marine environment;
(b) applicable international conventions, including STCW and the MLC; and
(c) national legislation relating to Safe Manning Certification, Hours of Work and Rest and related matters.

Responsibility for Safe Manning:

(3) It is the responsibility of the owner, master and operators of yachts to ensure that at all times the vessel is safely manned and operated in compliance with the standards of safety, marine environment protection and security set out in the various applicable international Conventions, Codes and national legislation and in accordance with any Safe Manning Document or similar certification in force with respect to the ship.

(4) In assessing the appropriate level of manning for a yacht the following factors, in addition to those in subsection (2) are among those which shall be taken into account-

(a) the size, type and complexity of the yacht and its equipment;
(b) type and size of the yacht’s main propulsion and auxiliary machinery;
(c) the area and type of operation in which the yacht shall be engaged including-
- (i) likely navigational and other hazards to be encountered;
- (ii) frequency of port calls; and
- (iii) density of traffic; and
(d) the demands on the master, officers and crew in the normal day to day running of the yacht over and above safety and marine environmental protection considerations;
(e) the need to mount safe navigational and engine watches at sea, at anchor and in port;
(f) peak workloads;
(g) the need to provide statutory periods of rest;
(h) on-board maintenance requirements;
(i) on-board mooring and unmooring arrangements;
(j) emergency situations and procedures including the mustering and evacuation of passengers;
(k) compliance with the yacht’s Safety Management System; and
(l) compliance with Maritime Security requirements.

Safe Manning Document

(5) SOLAS requires that vessels of 500GT and above, excluding pleasure vessels not engaged in trade, carry a Safe Manning Document. Owners and operators of vessels below 500GT, or those of 500GT and above solely engaged for pleasure, may also choose to hold a Safe Manning Document. This shall allow the owner to consider a ‘range and risk’ approach when determining manning levels.

(6) In the event of any change in equipment, construction or use of the vessel, which may affect the safe manning level, the owner or operator shall make an application for the issue of a new Safe Manning Document.

(7) A Safe Manning Document of a vessel may be withdrawn if an owner or operator fails to submit a new proposal where a vessel changes trading area(s), construction, machinery or equipment, or operation and/or method of maintenance have changed, or a vessel persistently fails to comply with the hours of rest requirements.

Application for a Safe Manning Document:

(8) Vessels to which the Code applies shall be in possession of a Safe Manning Document or similar certification which signifies that the Administration has approved the minimum manning levels for the yacht in accordance with 1.4(1).

(9) Application for a Safe Manning Document or Certificate shall be made to the Administration, in accordance with its procedures, by the owner or operator of the yacht or a person duly authorised to act in this regard and the application shall present a clear rationale on which the proposed manning is based, including-

(a) an explanation of how the proposed manning has been determined;
(b) Confirmation that the assessment has taken account, as a minimum, of all the relevant guidelines as set out in this Annex;
(c) how the requirements relating to hours of work and rest shall be complied with; and
(d) details of the yacht in terms of its size, layout, equipment propulsion and auxiliary machinery and other such relevant factors affecting manning levels^footnote

(10) More than one proposal for safe manning for the same yacht may be submitted to take account of differing operational patterns or a variation in the number of passengers carried.

Qualifications and Training:

(11) In general terms the master and officers serving on a yacht to which this Code applies shall be certificated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the STCW, provided that for Part A yachts under 3000 GT, appropriate Yacht qualifications may be accepted by the Administration

(12) Any person employed or engaged in any capacity onboard a seagoing ship to which this Code applies, other than a seafarer employed or engaged as such in accordance with subsection (3), shall be deemed to be a passenger unless such person has satisfactorily undergone familiarisation training and instruction in accordance with the Code to the STCW^footnote and is in possession of appropriate documentation attesting to the satisfactory completion of such familiarisation training and instruction.

(13) Any seafarer employed or engaged in any capacity onboard a seagoing ship to which this Code applies, on the business of that ship as part of the ship’s complement with designated safety or pollution prevention duties in the operation of the ship shall, in addition to the familiarisation training referred to in subsection (2) and before being assigned to any shipboard duties, have received basic safety training and instruction in accordance with the Code to the STCW^footnote and be in possession of appropriate documentation attesting to the satisfactory completion of such training and instruction.

(14) The number of trained persons shall always be sufficient to assist the total number of passengers who may be onboard at any one time.

Additional Requirements for Part B Vessels:

(15) Masters and officers and shall receive additional training ^footnote to enable them to perform (15)their duties properly with respect to the carriage of passengers.

(16) Other crew members who are nominated on muster lists to assist passengers in emergency situations shall also have undergone appropriate additional training^footnote.

(17) In relation to Part B Chapter 9 of the Code (Accommodation and Recreation Facilities-Design and Construction), officers include the following persons holding the appropriate qualifications and serving in the following-

(a) Master.	(f) Other Officers in the Deck or Engine Department designated as such in the ship’s Articles of Agreement or Employment Agreement.
(b) Chief Engineer.
(c) Chief Officer/Chief Mate.
(d) Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (Deck Officer).	(g) Electro-Technical Officer (ETO).
(e) Officer in Charge of an Engine Room Watch (Engineer Officer)	(h) Chief Steward/Purser(Head of interior department)

G4 - Medical Fitness

(1) All seafarers serving onboard vessels to which the Code applies shall be in possession of a valid Medical Fitness Certificate issued or recognised by the Administration.

G5 - Schedule of Duties

(1) The Master shall ensure that a schedule of duties is drawn up setting out the hours of work and rest periods for each of the crew. The table or schedule shall show:

(a) the schedule of duties at sea and duties in port; and
(b) the minimum hours of rest as defined by the MLC.

(2) In devising the schedule, operators shall take account of factors such as:

(a) nature of the operation;
(b) type and size of vessel;
(c) construction and technical equipment of the vessel;
(d) manning levels and changes in crew numbers due to crew changes and
(e) sickness;
(f) the maximum period of continuous watchkeeping;
(g) minimum rest periods;
(h) total workload;
(i) compliance with the ISPS Code as applicable;
(j) the seriousness of irregular working hours and their contribution to causing fatigue and the importance of scheduling reasonably stable working hours.

(3) Changes shall not be made to the schedule of duties unless they can be justified by substantially altered work patterns or other significant factors.

(4) Where it is known that a vessel engages in an irregular pattern or that working hours are unlikely to be uniform, this can be taken into account when considering the schedule.

(5) It is not necessary to draw up a new schedule of duties for each voyage, so long as it is applicable to the voyage in question and the composition of the crew for whom it was originally intended has not changed.

(6) A copy of the schedule shall be made available to all members of the crew.

G6 - Hours of Work and Rest:

(1) All members of the yacht’s complement, including the Master, shall have minimum rest periods and maximum periods on duty (emergencies excepted) in accordance with the provisions of the STCW, MLC and national legislation.

(2) Owners and operators of yachts shall ensure that the master, officers and ratings do not work more hours than is safe in relation to the performance of their duties and the safety of the ship in accordance with the provisions referred to in subsection 12.5(1) and the master shall ensure that these provisions are adhered to onboard by suitable arrangements with respect to the assignment of duties; manning levels shall therefore be such as to ensure that the master, officers and crew are afforded the opportunity to take the minimum rest periods.

(3) The time and place of rest periods shall be such as to ensure that such periods can be taken in a suitable environment conducive to achieving an effective rest.

(4) Further guidance about fitness for duty is contained in section B-VIII/1 of the STCW.

Minimum Hours of Rest

(5) The owner/operator or Master shall ensure that the crew are provided with at least the minimum hours of rest. These shall not be less than:

(a) 10 hours in any 24-hour period; and
(b) 77 hours in any seven-day period.

(6) Hours of rest may be divided into no more than 2 periods; one of which shall be at least 6 hours long, and the interval in between shall not exceed 14 hours.

(7) It is expected that as far as practicable the Master shall arrange for conducting emergency drills such as musters, fire-fighting and abandon vessel drills in a way which minimises the disturbance to rest periods and provide compensatory rest for seafarers whose normal rest is disturbed by call-outs for drills.

Records

(8) A record of the actual hours of work performed by the individual seafarer shall be maintained onboard, in order to verify that the minimum periods of rest required under applicable international instruments and national legislation have been complied with.

(9) The master or authorised person is responsible for ensuring that records of hours of rest are maintained for each of the crew serving on the vessel. Each record shall be endorsed by the master or authorised person and the seafarer. A copy shall be retained by the seafarer.

(10) In an emergency, or when unforeseen events occur, changes may be unavoidable. In these cases records shall reflect all deviations from the schedule.

(11) All records shall be kept for a minimum of 12 months and shall be available for inspection by the Administration surveyors at any time. Checking the vessel’s records may be carried out by the Administration as part of the normal routine of vessel inspection and shall include a check that the appropriate schedules are available and records maintained.

Exceptions for Emergencies

(12) Situations may arise in which a seafarer may be required to work during scheduled hours of rest. These include emergencies which threaten the safety of the vessel or put life at risk. In these circumstances, the limits may be exceeded provided compensatory arrangements are subsequently made to avoid fatigue.

On-Call Time

(13) Where a seafarer’s normal period of rest onboard a vessel is disturbed by a callout he/she shall have adequate compensatory rest.

G7 - Personal Water Craft

(1) The operators are reminded that operation of personal watercraft shall comply with the applicable legislation of the state in whose waters they are being operated.