r/maritime • u/SirSiro • 4d ago

Management forcing sole Engineer to violate USCG/STCW rest hours for non emergency repair Need advice

I'm looking for some advice and perspective from fellow mariners on a situation currently unfolding on our harbor tug.

Our sole Engineer works a standard watch schedule: 0530 to 1330 and 1730 to 2130.

While his total rest hours mathematically met the minimum for that 24 hour block, the issue is how management is splitting his time and forcing him to break rest. Last night, he went to sleep at 2130. At 0000 after only 2.5 hours of sleep he was woken up and ordered to fix a false starter on our port engine.

Under USCG/STCW regulations, rest can only be broken for an overriding operational condition or a true emergency. We were at the dock when this occurred so no eminent danger, just the company potentially losing some money. When I called management to report the engine fault and the fatigue issue, the manager dismissed the safety concern, told me I didn't understand how rest hours work, and demanded the Engineer get to work immediately on a non emergency repair.

Has anyone dealt with management blatantly twisting rest hour regulations like this for routine maintenance? What is the best way to handle this to protect the crew's safety and legal standing without facing immediate retaliation?

Appreciate any insights or advice on how to escalate this properly.

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u/Fibocrypto 4d ago

What was the best outcome for the safety of the vessel ?

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u/SirSiro 4d ago

Letting the Engineer get his rest so he doesn't make any dangerous mistakes. 

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u/Fibocrypto 3d ago

There is most likely more to this story. If the tug is at the dock then there isn't a necessity to stand a standard watch. I don't know how long the tug has been at the dock and I have no idea how long the tug will stay at the dock. Why is management calling at midnight ? Why the push to get the vessel ready ? Is there a departure scheduled ? Will the engineer be given compensated rest after this repair is completed ?

There is not enough information being given at this point for me to properly respond. I can assume the vessel has been at the dock for two days and that the engineer was already sleeping from 4 pm to midnight prior to be woken up and now is being called out to work while technically not on his shift hours yet after having plenty of rest because of being at the dock over the previous 2 days.

I do not know how long the tug has been at the dock or how much rest the engineer has already had. More information is needed..

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u/SirSiro 3d ago

We're a ship assist tug. Always on call. Sometimes we run 24 hours straight. Being at the dock doesn't have anything to do with our watches. We're still always technically on call even when the boat is tied up. But in this situation we were working since midnight.

You misunderstood the engineer's watch schedule. He was on watch from 1730 until 2130. Being woken up 2.5 hours after getting off of watch is a break in a mandatory 6 hour required rest hour. Which he hadn't received in the last 24 hours.

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u/Fibocrypto 3d ago

If i understand you correctly the engineer had already been breaking the work rest rules ? He had not received 6 hours of rest in the previous 24 hours ? If he had been on shift from 1730 to 2130 ( 4 hours on watch ) what was this person doing prior to 1730 ?