Malaysia legislation
Section 90
Section 90
(2)
The Director of Marine may, after consulting the owners’ and seafarer’s organizations, increase the minimum hours of rest taking into account the dangers posed by the fatigue of seafarers, especially those whose duties involve navigational safety and the safe and secure operation of the ship.
(3)
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 periods of rest shall not exceed fourteen hours.
(4)
Musters, fire fighting and lifeboat drills, and mandatory drills, shall be conducted in a manner that minimizes the disturbance of rest periods and does not induce fatigue.
(5)
When a seafarer is on a call duty, the seafarer shall have an adequate compensatory rest period if the normal period of rest is disturbed by a call out to work.
(6)
The owner shall ensure that a table with the working arrangements be placed in an easily accessible area on board the ship and the table shall be in the form determined by the Director of Marine and shall contain for every position at least—
(a)
the schedule of service at sea and in port;
and
(b)
the minimum hours of rest required under subsection (1).
(7)
The master shall maintain the records of seafarer’s daily hours of work and rest in the form determined by the Director of Marine and each seafarer shall receive a copy of their record which shall be signed by the seafarer and by the master or a person authorized by the master.
(8)
The following conditions apply to seafarers under the age of eighteen years while at sea and in port:
(a)
working hours shall not exceed eight hours per day and forty hours per week and overtime shall be allowed only when there is unavoidable situation or for safety reasons;
(b)
sufficient time shall be allowed for all meals, and a break of at least one hour for the main meal of the day shall be assured; and
(c)
a fifteen minutes’ rest period as soon as possible following each two hours of continuous work shall be allowed.
(9)
Subsection (8) does not apply in the following situations:
(a)
the conditions under subsection (8) are impracticable for seafarers under the age of eighteen years assigned to watch-keeping duties or working on a scheduled shift-work system in the deck, engine room or catering departments; or
Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Amendment)
(b)
the effective training of young seafarers in accordance with established programmes and schedules would be impaired.
(10)
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to impair the right of the master to require a seafarer, including a seafarer under the age of eighteen years, to perform any hours of work necessary for the immediate safety of the ship, person on board or cargo or for the purposes of giving assistance to other ship or person in distress at sea provided that the seafarer is compensated with an equivalent period of rest as soon as practicable after the normal situation has been restored.
(11)
The master shall keep a duly signed record, stating the reasons for the situations where—
(a)
the seafarer under the age of eighteen years is required to work under subsection (9);
or
(b)
the seafarer is required to perform any hours of work under subsection (10).
(12)
For the purposes of this section, the term
“hours of rest” means time outside hours of work and does not include short breaks of one hour or less or a break for a meal.
(13)
Any master or owner who fails to comply with this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit.
Entitlement to leave.