Managing fatigue at sea in Canada

Fatigue is dangerous in all types of transportation where employees routinely work long and irregular hours for extended periods. Seafarers often experience factors that contribute to fatigue, including:

• poor sleep quality
• poor sleeping conditions (such as noise, lighting, vibration, poor ventilation and motion of the vessel)
• rotating shifts
• work or sleep that doesn’t match the body’s circadian rhythm (internal clock)
• stress and excessive workload

On this page

• Defining fatigue
• Recognizing the risk
• How is fatigue being addressed in Canada?
• Request a copy
• Fatigue training
• Teaching others about fatigue risks and managing them
• Need help?

Defining fatigue

This is how we define fatigue in the Canadian marine transportation system:

• Fatigue is reduced mental or physical ability from sleep related factors. This includes sleep loss, poor quality sleep, extended wakefulness, physical activity, or any combination which may impair an employee’s ability to safely operate equipment or perform duties.

Recognizing the risk

Fatigue is a contributing factor to safety issues in Canada’s transportation sector and is present throughout all industries, especially where employees are required to work long hours, take on shift work, and adjust to irregular schedules. Canada’s work and rest regulations alone cannot eliminate fatigue – a well-rounded approach is needed. Recognizing the risk of fatigue is key to understanding how to prevent it, and depends on the actions of employees, employers, and regulators. Employees should educate themselves on the risks and symptoms of fatigue and should prioritize opportunities to get good quality sleep. Employers should use practices that support employees and help avoid fatigue risks, such as proper scheduling. Regulators should continue to find practical solutions and preventive measures that can be used by employers and employees to avoid the risks and effects of fatigue.

In 2023, Transport Canada contracted researchers from Memorial University to survey stakeholders so we could better understand both the perceived and actual level of fatigue risk in the Canadian maritime industry. They presented their findings and observations in a report titled Fatigue in the Maritime Sector 2023.

Request a copy

Get a copy of this document sent to you by email.

Request a copy

Privacy notice: We collect your email address to automatically send you an electronic copy of the document you’ve requested. Your email address is not stored. Read our privacy statement.

Request a copy in alternate format: To get a copy of this document in an alternate format, contact AEWeb@tc.gc.ca.

How is fatigue being addressed in Canada?

Authorized representatives of Canadian vessels must follow minimum regulatory requirements for fatigue management. This includes the hours of work and rest requirements set out in the Marine Personnel Regulations made pursuant to the Canada Shipping Act, 2001.

Table 1: Fatigue-related requirements from the Marine Personnel Regulations

Standard	Domestic voyages (Section 320)	International voyages (Section 321 – aligned with the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006)
Minimum hours of rest in every 24-hour period	6 consecutive hours	10 hours
Minimum hours of rest in every 48-hour period	16 hours (Average 8 hours/day)	n/a
Minimum hours of rest in every 7-day period	n/a	77 hours/7-day (Average 11 hours of rest a day)
Maximum work period in a 24hrs	18 hours	14 hours
Applies to	All Canadian vessels* engaged on a sheltered waters voyage, near coastal voyage, Class 2, or near coastal voyages, Class 1 Canadian vessels* in any waters other than those of a foreign state that has ratified the MLC 2006 * includes fishing vessels of 100 gross tonnage or above.	Any Canadian vessel on an unlimited voyage Canadian vessels engaged in near coastal voyages, Class 1 while the vessel is in the waters of a foreign state that has ratified the MLC 2006 All foreign vessels operating in Canadian waters

Section 322 of the Marine Personnel Regulations requires a vessel’s Master to consider the danger of crew member fatigue when scheduling hours of work and rest. This is especially important for those whose duties involve navigational safety and the safe and secure operation of the vessel.

In addition to meeting regulatory requirements, authorized representatives should establish a Fatigue Management System to effectively address fatigue related risks within their organizations. This system should:

• proactively identify and manage fatigue risks to keep operating safely
• provide enough employee training and resources to avoid, detect and reduce fatigue impairment
• identify roles and responsibilities in fatigue management
• consider fatigue in all parts of operations
• schedule employees to give the best opportunity for rest
• provide ways for and encourage fatigue reporting without fear of retaliation
• act on fatigue-related hazards and fatigue-related events in a timely manner so they are not repeated
• be aware of and apply the latest fatigue research to constantly improve the Fatigue Management System
• ensure all areas of the organization feel well represented in the Fatigue Management System processes and decision-making

Fatigue training

In 2017, we included fatigue training in the marine training courses for STCW Basic Safety certificate of proficiency or a certificate of competency for a Master, Chief Mate or Watchkeeping Mate that meets the requirements of the STCW Convention^{Footnote 1}.

Below is a summary of the updates to Transport Canada’s publications:

• TP 4957 requires 1 hour of fatigue training to obtain a certificate in STCW Basic Safety
• TP 15337 requires 2 hours of fatigue training for a certificate of competency for a Master, Chief Mate or Watchkeeping Mate that meets the requirements of the STCW Convention.

The Fatigue Management at Sea e-course, produced in association with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), is available at no cost to all Canadian seafarers with a valid Candidate Document Number (CDN), courtesy of Transport Canada. Enrolment is also available for purchase by the general public.

To access the Fatigue Management at Sea course, visit the CCOHS registration page and follow these steps:

• Step 1: Register with the CCOHS.
• Step 2: Sign-in using the password provided in the registration confirmation email.

Teaching others about fatigue risks and managing them

We issued Ship Safety Bulletin 10/2019 to tell stakeholders about the updated International Marine Organization Guidelines on Fatigue (MSC.1/Circ.1598). These guidelines put the causes of fatigue into 5 broad categories:

• the seafarer
• on board and shore-based management
• the vessel
• the environment
• operational requirements

The International Marine Organization guidelines identify three main actors (seafarers, companies, and national administrations) and the steps that they can take to reduce the risk of fatigue. We encourage all main actors to access these guidelines and how they can better manage fatigue at sea.

Need help?

Email: MSSFatigueManagement-GestiondelafatigueSSM@tc.gc.ca