Seafarers Have the Right to Rest on Board
MLC 2006 establishes seafarers’ right to decent working conditions across almost every key aspect of work and life on board, including employment agreements, hours of work and rest, payment of wages, annual leave, repatriation, on-board medical care, accommodation, food, health protection, and complaint procedures.
The Convention was adopted on 23 February 2006. It entered into force on 20 August 2013, and its Code was amended in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2025.
Minimum Rest
UK guidance on applying MLC 2006 for UK ships and non-UK ships with no maritime labour certificate states a minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period and 77 hours of rest in any 7-day period.
The same guidance says daily rest should normally be divided into no more than two periods, one of which must be at least 6 hours long. The interval between rest periods must not exceed 14 hours.
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Rest in 24 hours | at least 10 hours |
| Rest in 7 days | at least 77 hours |
| One daily rest period | at least 6 hours |
| Maximum interval between rest periods | 14 hours |
Control on Board
UK rules require a schedule of hours of rest to be posted on board and records of actual rest hours to be maintained.
For a seafarer, these records matter not as paperwork, but as evidence of whether the actual working pattern met the minimum requirements. If rest hours are repeatedly reduced or the records do not match real watches and duties, seafarers should record dates and circumstances and use the available complaint procedures.
ILO and IMO stress that MLC 2006 set minimum standards for decent work at sea and remains important because seafarers still face problems including fatigue, unpaid wages, abandonment, criminalization, and denial of shore leave.