Fatigue at sea

STCW VIII rest hours floor + MEPC.1/Circ.1014 guidance + the personal habits that make 6-on/6-off survivable.

Fatigue at sea is not the same as fatigue ashore. Two-watch systems, port calls, drills, and unpredictable callouts mean that no week is the same. The STCW rest-hours floor (minimum 10 hours in 24, minimum 77 hours in 7) is the legal minimum and is regularly under-met on smaller crews. Sustained sleep debt degrades reaction time, decision-making, and immune function. The system controls are partial: the individual controls are where most of the improvement lives.

Practical steps

• Sleep in the dark — black-out curtains, eye mask, no phone in bed.
• Cut screens 30 min before sleep.
• Keep caffeine within the first 6 hours of the watch — none in the last 4.
• Take rest opportunistically in port.
• Record actual rest hours, not idealised hours.
• Talk to a peer if the rest pattern stops working — it is normal to need help.

When to escalate

• If you cannot stay awake on watch — relieve yourself and report to the Master. Continuing on an unsafe watch is the worse choice.
• If the rest-hours schedule is structurally undeliverable — raise it via the onboard complaints procedure or escalate via /rights/hours-of-rest.

Last verified 5 months ago