Refers to: Ship-owners, Operators, Masters and Managers of PHRS certified vessels
Effective Dates: December 2025
The purpose of this Newsletter is to inform all interested parties about the issuance of Circular 328/2025 by Maritime Cook Islands. In order to simplify the correct application of MLC Regulation 2.3 – Hours of Work and Hours of Rest and to prevent non-conformities raised by external auditors or Port State Control, we strongly recommend the use of the attached MLC Work Rest Tool, which enables effective monitoring of MLC hours of work and rest.
We would like to highlight that in application of the MLC standards, each vessel shall take into account the danger posed by the fatigued seafarers, especially those whose duties involve navigational safety and the safe and secure operation of the ship.
It is therefore, in the common interest of all the parties involved, to ensure the limits fixed by Regulation 2.3 of the MLC are complied with.
The attached tool gives you a tool to monitor the hours worked on board and will help to identify immediately any inability to comply with the MLC Regulation 2.3.
Guidelines for the use of the MLC Work Rest Tool.
The file is password-protected, ensuring the formulas and layout of the tool remain intact.
In the first sheet, you can fill in the vessel and seaman details, which will be automatically reported on all subsequent pages.
You also have a sheet “sample” as a guideline for filling.
The hours shall be indicated with the following letters:
“w” means working hours
“r” means rest hours
“n” means neutral hours (this letter shall be used in case of more than two rest periods in one day, in application of the rule 2.3.6 “hours of rest may be divided into no 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 14 hours”).
The Work Rest Tool has been updated to reflect the year 2026, but you can start using it from December 2025 to maintain continuity into the upcoming year.