Human Element - MLC & STCW — Most Asked Questions
20 questions asked about human element - mlc & stcw across the General and Fn 3 papers, heaviest first. 1 of them are must-master.
Learn the system first
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1 MLC WORK REST HOURS
Also asked: “MLC rest hour and working hour regulation”, “mlc - rest hrs”
Answer
MLC and STCW cap fatigue by law: at least 10 hours rest in every 24 and 77 hours in every 7 days, recorded and signed.
- Minimum rest: not less than 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period.
- Rest may be split into no more than two periods, one of which is at least 6 hours.
- Musters and drills must not exhaust the crew; call-outs that break rest earn compensatory rest.
- Every seafarer’s hours are recorded, endorsed by the master and the seafarer at least monthly, and open to port-state inspection.
Surveyor follow-up: a watchkeeper shows 9 hours rest yesterday with a drill in the middle — compliant or not, and what paper proves it?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
2 What are the work and rest hours prescribed for seafarer as per the convention
Answer
Rest is law, not guidance: at least 10 hours in every 24 and 77 in every 7 days, in at most two parts with one long sleep.
- Minimums are 10 hours rest per 24 hours and 77 per 7 days — or capped work at 14 and 72 hours on the same periods.
- Split rest into no more than two periods with one unbroken stretch of at least 6 hours.
- Drills and call-outs must not hollow out rest — broken rest earns compensatory rest.
- Hours logged daily, signed by master and seafarer, open to port-state inspection.
Surveyor follow-up: 9 hours rest yesterday with a midnight call-out — compliant or not, and what paper fixes it?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
3 Reports & Analysis of Non-Conformities, Accidents & Hazardous Occurrences
Answer
Report everything that breaks the system: accidents, near-misses and non-conformities go to the designated person with causes and consequences.
- The master reports accidents, hazardous occurrences, SMS non-conformities and improvement ideas to the designated person ashore.
- Reports carry probable causes plus harm to people, environment, property and operational safety.
- Management reviews and evaluates for short- and long-term corrective action so nothing recurs.
- Crew reports feed inspections, audits, training and rule updates — silence is the only unacceptable report.
Surveyor follow-up: near-miss with no damage reported verbally only — reportable or not, and to whom in writing?
Full theory: SOLAS Chapter IX — ISM Code & Safety Management Systems -
4 With reference to MLC 2006 discuss the requirement for seafarers regarding
Also asked: “With reference to the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) 2006, discuss the requirements regarding”
Answer
MLC covers a seafarer’s whole working life: agreement, pay, hours, leave, food, accommodation, health and the way home.
- Agreement, wages, hours of work and rest, paid leave and repatriation at the company’s cost.
- Manning levels, accommodation, recreation, food and catering to the convention standard.
- Medical care, compensation for loss or foundering, and social protection ashore and afloat.
- Compliance proved by maritime labour certificate, declaration and inspection — birth date to manning to menu.
Surveyor follow-up: agreement signed but no payslip for two months — which MLC right has failed first?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
5 All complaints and decision should be recorded and a copy to be given to seafarer also
Answer
Every complaint and every decision goes in writing with a copy to the seafarer — no record means no hearing happened.
- Log the complaint with facts, dates and witnesses plus the decision with reasons at each stage.
- Hand a signed copy to the seafarer the same day the decision is made.
- File copies ashore with the company record and keep the ship file for flag and port-state inspection.
- Detailed inspection or detention follows missing, false or unsigned complaint papers.
Surveyor follow-up: decision given verbally with no copy — compliant or not, and what do you write tonight?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
6 A) discuss the reasons of stress on working onboard and how to cope with stress. Main causes for stress onboard
Also asked: “Discuss the reason of stress on working onboard and how to cope up with stress? (normal answer”
Answer
Shipboard stress grows from isolation, workload and motion: name it, share it, roster against it, land it ashore.
- Causes stack: separation from home, long hours, noise, vibration, motion and tight cabins with thin recreation.
- Signs show as sleep loss, temper, mistakes and withdrawal — watchkeepers spot it in each other first.
- Cope by rostered rest, exercise, mess social life, contact home and talking early to officers.
- Company duty is manning, hours and welfare follow-up — the surveyor reads rest hours and recreation provision.
Surveyor follow-up: tired watchkeeper covering for a sick mate — cope, replace or stop work, and who decides?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
7 Port and weather conditions Vessel traffic c) what are the ill effects of fatigue and how can you deal with that onboard? effects of fatigue
Also asked: “What are the effects of fatigue? How can you deal with it onboard?”
Answer
Fatigue dulls the watch: errors, slow reactions and missed alarms — answered by enforced rest, manning and napping discipline.
- Ill effects pile as wrong decisions, missed traffic, sloppy machinery rounds and sour temper.
- Causes sail with the ship: port pressure, weather, traffic density and broken sleep.
- Cures are rostered 10-and-77 rest, manning to the document, controlled naps and call-out compensation.
- Prove by rest records signed by master and seafarer with drills kept clear of sleep hours.
Surveyor follow-up: rest record shows 9 hours with a midnight call-out — compliant or not, and what fixes it?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
8 According to the current provisions in STCW, it is acceptable for a seafarer to work for 98 hours a week. This can be compared with 72 hours per week in ILO 180 and 48 hours per week in the European Working Time Directiv
Also asked: “According to the current provisions in STCW, it is acceptable for a seafarer to work for 98 hours a week. This can be compared with 72 hours per week in ILO 180 and 48 hours per week in the European Working Time Directive”
Answer
Hours caps tighten from STCW to ILO to Europe: 98 at sea, 72 under ILO 180, 48 under European time rules.
- STCW allows the longest week at sea with 10-and-77 rest minima doing the real guarding.
- ILO Convention 180 caps nearer 72 with leave, medical and agreement rights behind it.
- European rules cap near 48 with stricter weekly rest and enforcement ashore.
- Answer with the ship’s roster: hours, rest splits and compensatory rest logged and signed.
Surveyor follow-up: 90-hour week with rest records clean — compliant where, and what paper proves it?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
9 Chronically fatigued individuals will often select strategies that have a high degree of risk on the basis that they require less effort to execute
Answer
Tired crews pick easy risks: shortcuts replacing procedures because effort feels heavier than danger.
- Chronic fatigue discounts danger and inflates effort — checklists shrink to memory.
- Shortcuts cluster on repetitive rounds, isolations and alarm responses.
- Cure is rostered rest, manning to the document, supervised critical jobs and stop-work authority.
- Near-misses naming fatigue get reported like casualties — silence keeps the shortcut alive.
Surveyor follow-up: experienced hand skips the checklist “to save time” — efficiency or fatigue, and what do you do?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
10 Fatigue can affect an individual's ability to respond to stimuli, perceive stimuli, interpret or understand stimuli, and it can take longer to react to them once they have been identified
Answer
Fatigue slows every link from senses to action: notice later, read wrong, answer slower.
- Perception narrows — alarms, gauges and traffic cues arrive late or not at all.
- Interpretation slips — right signals read wrong under sleep debt.
- Reaction stretches after identification — hands lag decisions by lengthening margins.
- Rostered rest, naps and call-out compensation restore the chain; logs prove the recovery.
Surveyor follow-up: missed alarm with a rested roster showing — fatigue, manning or alarm, and what proves it?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
11 Fatigued individuals become more susceptible to errors of attention and memory (for example, it is not uncommon for fatigued individuals to omit steps in a sequence
Answer
Tired memory drops steps: attention narrows, sequences shorten, omissions hide until the failure.
- Attention errors miss alarms, gauges and checklist lines in order.
- Memory errors omit steps mid-sequence — isolation, line-up and drill steps first.
- Counter with written checks, cross-checks and supervisor hold-points on critical jobs.
- Rest records, manning and drill timing prove the defence at inspection.
Surveyor follow-up: omitted drain step floods a cooler — individual or system fault, and what changes tomorrow?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
12 All titles of MLC
Also asked: “MLC full titles”
Answer
MLC 2006 is the seafarers’ bill of rights in five titles: employment, accommodation, health, compliance and welfare ashore.
- Title 1 sets minimum age, contracts, hours and repatriation — the employment bargain in writing.
- Title 2 sets accommodation, food, medical care, liability and social security aboard.
- Title 3 guards health, safety and accident prevention with onboard medical care and shipowner liability.
- Titles 4 and 5 enforce it all: flag-state compliance with the maritime labour certificate plus port-state inspection and welfare access ashore.
Surveyor follow-up: accommodation Title 2 short with contracts Title 1 perfect — certify, conditionally certify or detain?
Full theory: Major Certificates & Documents to Carry On Board -
13 No of chapters in stcw and are there any code
Also asked: “Stcw chapters?”
Answer
STCW runs eight convention chapters backed by Code parts A and B: rules in the convention, detail in the Code.
- Chapters I–IV set general, deck, engine and radio requirements for certificates and watchkeeping.
- Chapters V–VIII add special ships, emergency and medical, alternative certificates and watchkeeping rules.
- Code Part A is mandatory detail enlarging every regulation; Part B recommends how to implement it.
- Adopted 1978, in force 1984, overhauled 1995 and 2010 — quote your certificate’s chapter, never “some chapter”.
Surveyor follow-up: GMDSS certificate claimed under STCW Chapter VI instead of IV — chapter, code part or bluff?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
14 What is Fatigue failure?
Answer
Fatigue failure is cyclic death: repeated stress below yield grows cracks from defects until steel lets go without warning.
- Crack-like defects concentrate stress and turn brittle below temperature or at speed — inspect the notches first.
- Crankshafts fail this way when material, heat treatment, alignment or running strays from design.
- Carbon-manganese forgings and castings earn their treatment and machining margins against exactly this end.
- Beat it by alignment, clean oil, balanced firing and crack testing — a fatigued shaft never warns twice.
Surveyor follow-up: shaft cracked with alignment perfect and oil clean — material, treatment or overload history first?
Full theory: Ship Stresses and Longitudinal Hull Strength -
15 Also diff in mlc and stcw
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16 Any accident u witnessed onboard, explain near miss
Answer
An accident is what happened; a near miss is what did not — and the near miss is the report the ship should be using.
- A near miss is any event that could have caused injury, damage or pollution but did not, for no reason but chance.
- Reporting them matters because statistical analysis suggests around 80% of shipping accidents are caused by human error.
- The report states what happened, what nearly happened and why, then asks what stopped it becoming an accident.
- The corrective action is the point: a report with no change to the procedure, the training or the equipment has not been closed.
Surveyor follow-up: three near misses reported on the same valve with no change made — is that reporting or a filing system?
Full theory: SOLAS Chapter IX — ISM Code & Safety Management Systems -
17 How to cope with stress Seafarers need to take care of their own mental health while on board. Key steps to overcome stress on board are
Answer
Managing stress at sea is routine, not weakness: protect sleep, eat properly, exercise, talk early, and get help without stigma.
- Protect sleep first — the watch pattern, the noise and the light are controllable, and fatigue is what turns pressure into error.
- Keep a routine for food, exercise and rest, and use the quiet hours deliberately rather than spending them worrying.
- Talk early to mates, the chief officer or a trusted person ashore; the stigma of asking is what makes the harm worse.
- Use the support that exists: the ship’s medical advice, the company’s employee assistance, and the seafarer welfare services ashore.
Surveyor follow-up: a crew member withdrawn and working double watches — who owns that decision, and what is the rule on fitness?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
18 Stress strain curve for Mild steel. why material fail? The stress strain curve for mild steel consists of strain along the x-axis and stress along the y-axis. Stress strain curve for mild steel consists of various stages
Also asked: “Stress strain curve for Mild steel. why material fail? The stress strain curve for mild steel consists of strain along the x-axis and stress along the y-axis. Stress strain curve for mild steel consists of various stages such as”
Answer
Mild steel tells you its life in one graph: it stretches, yields, necks, and breaks — and each stage means something to a surveyor.
- Stress is load per unit area, strain is extension over original length, and the curve plots one against the other.
- Within the elastic limit stress is proportional to strain, and the material returns to length when the load is removed.
- Beyond the yield point it deforms permanently, then work-hardens to the ultimate stress, where necking begins.
- It fails at the breaking stress, and the whole ductile warning is there: necking and a falling load is the failure starting, not the end.
Surveyor follow-up: a plate past yield with no necking yet — is it failed, over-stressed or still serviceable?
Full theory: Marine Materials, Metallurgy & Mechanical Testing -
19 Thus Young's modulus is defined as the ratio of stress to a strain of the mild steel rod. The unit of young's modulus is N/mm²
Also asked: “Thus Young’s modulus is defined as the ratio of stress to a strain of the mild steel rod. The unit of young’s modulus is N/mm²”
Answer
Young’s modulus is the slope of the straight elastic part of the curve: stress over strain, measured in N/mm².
- Hooke’s law says that within the elastic limit, stress is proportional to strain, so stress over strain is a constant.
- That constant is Young’s modulus of elasticity, symbol E, with stress in N/mm² and strain dimensionless, so E is in N/mm².
- It measures stiffness: a high E means a small deformation for any given stress.
- That is why deflection, not stress, is often the thing that governs a long span in bending.
Surveyor follow-up: two steels of equal strength but different E used on the same beam — which one deflects more, and by how much?
Full theory: Marine Materials, Metallurgy & Mechanical Testing -
20 What do you understand by stcw
Also asked: “What is stcw?”
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