Merchant Shipping (Hours of Rest) Regulations 2011
FA E R
N
AT F
TQUO U
BERMUDA
MERCHANT SHIPPING (HOURS OF REST) REGULATIONS 2011
BR 51 / 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Citation
Interpretation
Application
Minimum hours of rest
Watchkeeping officers to be rested before standing watch
Exceptions to the minimum hours of rest
Provision of information
Exception for emergencies
Records and format of records
Offences
Inspection
Revocations
The Minister responsible for Maritime Administration, after consulting the persons
referred to in section 94(3) of the Merchant Shipping Act 2002, and in exercise of the powers
conferred by sections 3 and 93 of that Act, makes the following Regulations:
Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Hours of Rest)
Regulations 2011.
Interpretation
In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Merchant Shipping Act 2002;
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1
2
1
MERCHANT SHIPPING (HOURS OF REST) REGULATIONS 2011
“collective bargaining agreement” means a written agreement, valid for not more
than five years, between a shipowner and an independent trade union which
is recognised in its country of domicile;
“commercial activity” means any activity or employment of the vessel for which a
contract or charter party is in force and includes the carriage of any cargo or
persons for reward;
“hours of rest” means time outside hours of work and does not include short breaks
from work;
“hours of work” means time during which the seafarer is required to do work on
the business of the ship;
“independent”, in relation to a trade union, means not under the domination or
control of an employer or group of employers or of one or more associations and
not liable to interference by an employer or any such group or association
(arising out of financial or material support or by any other means) tending
towards such control, provided that a shipowner’s contributions to a welfare
fund or similar fund shall not be construed as affecting the independence of a
trade union;
“Maritime Labour Certificate” means the certificate issued in accordance with
Article V of the Maritime Labour Convention;
“Maritime Labour Convention” means the Maritime Labour Convention 2006
adopted at a general conference of the International Labour Organization in
Geneva on 7 February, 2006;
“pleasure vessel” means—
a vessel which, at the time of its use, is—
in the case of—
a vessel wholly owned by an individual or individuals, used only
for the sport or pleasure of the owner or immediate family or
friends of the owner; or
a vessel owned by a body corporate, used only for sport or pleasure
and on which the passengers are employees or officers of the body
corporate, or their immediate family or friends; and
on a voyage or excursion from which the owner does not receive money
for, or in connection with, operating the vessel, or carrying any person,
other than as a contribution to the direct expenses of the operation of
the vessel incurred during that voyage or excursion, and no other
payments are made by or on behalf of users of the vessel other than by
the owner; or
a vessel which, at the time of its use, is any vessel wholly owned by or on
behalf of a member’s club formed for the purpose of sport or pleasure,
(1)
(a)
(i)
(ii)
(b)
(2)
2
MERCHANT SHIPPING (HOURS OF REST) REGULATIONS 2011
which is used only for the sport or pleasure of members of that club or their
immediate family; and
for the use of which, any charges levied are paid into club funds and
applied for the general use of the club; and
no other payments are made by or on behalf of users of the vessel other
than by the owner;
for the purposes of this definition—
“immediate family” means in relation to an individual, the husband or
wife of the individual and a relative of the individual or the individual’s
husband or wife; and
“relative” means brother, sister, ancestor or lineal descendant;
“port state authority” means the authority in any country assigned the
responsibility under Article V of the Maritime Labour Convention for the
inspections of ships of other flags in its territory;
“on call” means time when a seafarer is available on board the vessel and nominated
to answer any alarm or other call but not otherwise required to be working;
“shipowner” means the owner of the ship or another organisation or person, such
as a manager, agent or bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility
for the operation of the ship from the owner;
“seafarer” in these Regulations means any person who is employed or engaged or
works in any capacity on board a ship and where there is doubt as to whether
a person working or engaged on a ship is a Seafarer, the Minister shall make
a determination and in doing so he shall be guided by the advice and guidance
provided by the International Labour Organization.
Application
These Regulations apply to—
Bermuda ships wherever they may be other than—
fishing vessels;
vessels owned and operated by a Government department or agency for
non-commercial purposes; and
pleasure vessels in which no seafarers are employed; and
to the extent specified in regulation 11, ships that are not Bermuda ships
when in a port in Bermuda other than—
fishing vessels;
pleasure vessels; and
warships, naval auxiliaries and other ships owned or operated by a
state and not engaged in commercial activity.
(a)
(b)
(3)
(i)
(ii)
3
(1)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(2)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
3
MERCHANT SHIPPING (HOURS OF REST) REGULATIONS 2011
Minimum hours of rest
Every shipowner and every master of a ship to which these Regulations apply
shall ensure that each seafarer is provided with the minimum hours of rest.
Subject to regulation 5, the minimum hours of rest shall be—
not less than 10 hours in any 24 hour period; and
not less than 77 hours in any seven day period.
Hours of rest may be divided into not more than two periods, one of which shall
be at least six hours in length, and the interval between consecutive rest periods shall not
exceed 14 hours.
Watchkeeping officers to be rested before standing watch
Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 4 the master shall ensure that every
watchkeeping officer has sufficient rest before starting his watch.
Exceptions to the minimum hours of rest
Time when a seafarer is on call shall not be regarded as working time but a
seafarer who is on call, and who is required to answer call outs during that time, shall be
entitled to a compensatory rest period commensurate with the number of times that he has
been called out.
Musters, drills, and emergency exercises shall not be regarded as working time
but it shall be the duty of the master to plan and organise such musters, drills and exercises
in such a manner that the disturbances to rest for seafarers whose rest time is affected are
minimised.
The Minister may authorise a collective bargaining agreement permitting
exceptions to the limits specified in regulation 4 provided that the exceptions, so far as
possible, follow the provisions in regulation 4.
Provision of information
The master of every ship to which these Regulations apply shall ensure that a
table of the scheduled hours of work is created and made available to each seafarer on board
in an easily accessed location accessible to each seafarer, to any port state authority officer,
and to any Bermuda surveyor.
The table referred to in paragraph (1) shall be in the format set out in a
Bermuda Shipping Notice or in a format recognisably similar, and shall show for each
seafarer at least—
the schedule of work at sea and in port; and
the minimum hours of rest required by these Regulations or by any
collective bargaining agreement that the Minister has authorised.
Any table of scheduled hours of work made in accordance with this regulation
shall be in English.
4 (1)
(2)
(a)
(b)
(3)
5
6 (1)
(2)
(3)
7 (1)
(2)
(a)
(b)
(3)
4
MERCHANT SHIPPING (HOURS OF REST) REGULATIONS 2011
Exception for emergencies
The master of any ship to which these Regulations apply may require a seafarer
to work any hours of work that are necessary for the immediate safety of the ship, persons
on board the ship, or for the purpose of giving assistance to another ship or to a person in
distress at sea, and a seafarer shall not unreasonably refuse to work those additional hours.
As soon as practicable after the normal situation has been restored following a
situation covered by paragraph (1), the master shall ensure that any seafarer who has not
had the rest periods defined in regulation 4 during the emergency is provided with an
adequate compensatory rest period.
Records and format of records
The master, or a person authorised by him, shall maintain records of each
seafarer’s hours of rest in English and the records shall—
be completed monthly;
show for each day in the month a column of hours into which can be
recorded whether or not the seafarer was working or resting;
provide for a column to show a total hours of rest for each 24 hour period;
provide for a column in which can be recorded the reasons for any hours
of rest that are less than the minimum; and
provide for a column to show the total weekly hours of rest in any seven
day period.
The recording format for the hours of rest shall be that as set out in a Bermuda
Shipping Notice or a format recognisably similar and may be in electronic format, provided
that all the seafarers in the ship have ready access to their records at any reasonable time
during working hours.
A shipowner or a master may elect to use a commercially produced system for
recording hours of rest, provided that it contains the information in paragraph (1) and is in
a format equivalent to that prepared by the International Labour Organization.
At the end of each month each seafarer and the master or a person authorised
by him shall endorse the record for each seafarer and each seafarer shall be given a copy
of the endorsed record, or shall be provided with access to examine at any time his own
records, and where access to the records is electronic, the seafarer shall have access to
facilities that permit him to readily obtain, at any reasonable time during working hours, a
printed copy of his record since commencing employment on board.
The master or the person authorised by the master to endorse the records for
any seafarer shall, when doing so, satisfy himself that any deviations from the minimum
hours of rest in regulation 4 are explained and that the seafarer concerned has received
compensatory rest, where necessary, and shall bring to the attention of the master any
persistent deviations, and the master, if persistent deviations are evident or if they are
brought to his attention, shall take steps to ensure that the table referred to in regulation
7 is amended as necessary to avoid them subsequently.
8 (1)
(2)
9 (1)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
5
MERCHANT SHIPPING (HOURS OF REST) REGULATIONS 2011
Offences
A master who contravenes regulation 7 commits an offence and is liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
A master who contravenes regulation 9 commits an offence and is liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
Inspection
Any person duly authorised by the Minister may inspect any ship to which
these Regulations apply when in a port in Bermuda and if he is satisfied that any seafarer
or seafarers are not receiving the minimum hours of rest specified in Regulation 2.3 of the
Maritime Labour Convention, he may detain the ship, but shall not in the exercise of these
powers detain or delay the ship unreasonably.
Any authorised officer of the Department of Maritime Administration who
discovers that a Bermuda ship does not comply with these Regulations may—
withdraw the vessel’s Maritime Labour Certificate until such time as the
deficiency is rectified; or
if the vessel is in a port outside Bermuda, report the deficiency to the port
state authority in that port.
Revocations
Regulations 26, 27, 28, and 29 of the Merchant Shipping (Training, Certification,
Manning and Watchkeeping) Regulations 2005 are revoked.
Made this 20th day of September, 2011
Minister of Transport
10 (1)
(2)
11 (1)
(2)
(a)
(b)
12
6
