Transport maritime · Canada

Le sommeil et la fatigue : transport maritime

Seafarers stand watch systems such as six-on/six-off for weeks at a time, with broken sleep, noise and motion. Fatigue on watch raises the risk of grounding, collision and injury.

Réglementation modifiée : 30 janv. 2026 Changement prévu : 30 janv. 2027

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Ce que couvre cette page

Coastal and domestic commercial vessels
Commercial fishing
Cruise lines
Dredging
Ferries and passenger vessels
Marine pilots, tugs and towage
Offshore supply and construction vessels (voir aussi Pétrole et gaz)
Shipping lines - deep sea

Veille réglementaire

Ce qui a changé, et ce qui s’en vient

Les changements réglementaires qui touchent votre gestion de la fatigue en transport maritime : ce qui a changé au cours des 12 derniers mois, et ce qui s’en vient.

Les détails réglementaires et les données de recherche de cette page sont présentés en anglais.

Changement récentDepuis le 30 janvier 2026

S’applique à tous les secteurs (Canada)

If you are federally regulated, amendments registered 30 January 2026 add thermal stress duties - controls including work-rest cycles, worker training and committee consultation - in force 30 January 2027.

Voir le changement

Changement à venirPrévu à compter de 30 janvier 2027D’ici 12 mois

Federally regulated employers must apply the thermal stress amendments (SOR/2026-10), including the Maritime OHS Regulations, from 30 January 2027. Transport Canada plans to pre-publish new Marine Personnel Regulations in Fall 2026 for 60 days' comment; hours-of-rest content is unconfirmed.

Changements réglementaires vérifiés au 1 octobre 2026.

Réglementation

Qui la réglemente, et ce qui est attendu

Les détails réglementaires et les données de recherche de cette page sont présentés en anglais.

Canada sets numeric, legally binding rest hours for seafarers. On sheltered-waters and near-coastal voyages in Canadian waters, each crew member needs at least 6 consecutive hours' rest in every 24 hours and 16 hours' rest in every 48. On unlimited voyages, and in the waters of other states party to the convention, the standard is either no more than 14 hours' work in 24 and 72 in 7 days, or at least 10 hours' rest in 24 and 77 hours in 7 days. These bind Canadian vessels, including fishing vessels of 100 gross tonnage or more. Transport Canada recommends, but does not yet require, a fatigue management system beyond the bare hours.

Qui la réglemente

Maritime differs from Canada's general workplace rules: Transport Canada, under the Canada Shipping Act, sets specific, legally binding minimum rest hours for seafarers on Canadian vessels, enforced through vessel inspections, detention powers and prosecution - a dedicated marine regulator with its own hours-of-rest law. It also runs its own fatigue program, including a mandatory training course for seafarers.

Vos obligations

Masters must apply the rest-hour set that matches the voyage: at least 6 consecutive hours' rest in every 24 hours and 16 hours in every 48 on sheltered-waters and near-coastal voyages in Canadian waters, or at least 10 hours' rest in every 24 and 77 in every 7 days on unlimited and foreign-waters voyages. Keep a record of each crew member's daily hours of work or rest for inspection, and post a table of shipboard working arrangements. Masters must weigh the danger of crew fatigue in every scheduling decision. Seafarers must now also complete Transport Canada's Fatigue Management at Sea e-course alongside Marine Emergency Duties training.

Conséquences

Contravening the rest-hour rules is an offence under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, not just a safety-culture failure. Transport Canada marine safety inspectors can detain a vessel, suspend or cancel certificates and prosecute, and each day a contravention continues counts as a separate offence. The hours-of-rest record is how compliance is proved, so a missing or falsified record is itself what inspectors act on. Canadian vessels found deficient abroad can be detained by foreign port state control against the same international rest standard, and the general federal health and safety track applies on top.

Sanctions

Contravening the Marine Personnel Regulations is an offence under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to $1,000,000 or up to 18 months' imprisonment, or both, with each day a contravention continues a separate offence. Detention and certificate suspension carry their own commercial cost, and the general Canada Labor Code exposure - fines to $1,000,000, penalties to $250,000 per violation - applies as well. 2026 figures.

Sources: Canada Shipping Act, 2001; Marine Personnel Regulations, SOR/2007-115 (hours of work and rest); Transport Canada, 'Managing fatigue at sea in Canada'; Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.

Postes critiques

Là où la fatigue compte le plus en transport maritime

Les postes où un travailleur fatigué risque le plus de causer un préjudice grave, les tâches qui portent ce risque, et pourquoi la fatigue s’y accumule.

Les détails réglementaires et les données de recherche de cette page sont présentés en anglais.

Poste	Risque	Tâches à risque élevé	Pourquoi la fatigue s’accumule
Officer in charge of a navigational watch Règles Désignation réglementaire Crew member under the Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) Part 3; certificate of competency Heures et repos MPR s 320 domestic: 6 h consecutive rest/24 h, 16 h/48 h; s 321 international: 10 h rest in any 24 h and 77 h in any 7 days; at most 2 periods, one of at least 6 h	Risque critique	Keeping a bridge watch alone in the 00:00-04:00 or 04:00-08:00 watch; collision avoidance in coastal traffic; port arrival straight after cargo work	6-on/6-off or 4-on/8-off watches, port-call cargo work eating rest, time-zone changes, months-long tours
Engineer officer (engineering watch) Règles Désignation réglementaire Crew member under the Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) Part 3; certificate of competency Heures et repos MPR s 320 domestic: 6 h consecutive rest/24 h, 16 h/48 h; s 321 international: 10 h rest in any 24 h and 77 h in any 7 days; at most 2 periods, one of at least 6 h	Risque critique	Unmanned machinery space on-call alarm response at night; engine-room watch; bunkering, fuel changeover and blackout recovery after broken sleep	UMS on-call nights with repeated alarms, port maintenance during rest periods, heat and noise
Marine pilot (Pacific, Laurentian, Great Lakes or Atlantic Pilotage Authority) Règles Désignation réglementaire Licensed pilot (Pilotage Act) Heures et repos Pilotage Authority regulations and service contracts	Risque critique	Conning large ships through pilotage waters at night; boarding by pilot ladder in swell; back-to-back jobs and long coastal pilotages	24/7 on-call job lists, night jobs, long transits and travel between jobs, irregular rest
Tug master Règles Désignation réglementaire Crew member under the Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) Part 3; certificate of competency Heures et repos MPR s 320 domestic: 6 h consecutive rest/24 h, 16 h/48 h; s 321 international: 10 h rest in any 24 h and 77 h in any 7 days; at most 2 periods, one of at least 6 h	Risque critique	Ship-assist and harbour towage at night on short notice; towline handling near girting risk; coastal barge towing on two-watch systems	On-call 24 h harbour rosters, two-watch towing (6-on/6-off), back-to-back jobs
Master (domestic passenger vessel); fishing master Règles Désignation réglementaire Master under the Marine Personnel Regulations; Fishing Vessel Safety Regulations Heures et repos MPR s 320 domestic: 6 h consecutive rest/24 h, 16 h/48 h	Risque critique	Skippering a ferry or workboat with minimum crew on long days; night fishing then steaming home after hauling; lone watch on small vessels	Long seasonal days, early starts, split shifts on commuter ferries, multi-day trips with fragmented sleep
Able seafarer / bridge watchman Règles Désignation réglementaire Crew member under the Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) Part 3; certificate of competency Heures et repos MPR s 320 domestic: 6 h consecutive rest/24 h, 16 h/48 h; s 321 international: 10 h rest in any 24 h and 77 h in any 7 days; at most 2 periods, one of at least 6 h	Risque élevé	Lookout and helm on night watches; mooring and anchor work during port calls that cut into rest; fire rounds	Watch rotations, port-call work in rest periods, long tours

Cas

Quand la fatigue a laissé une trace

Constatations et poursuites publiées par les organismes de réglementation, les tribunaux et les enquêteurs (Canada).

Les détails réglementaires et les données de recherche de cette page sont présentés en anglais.

sept. 2022 · Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Pilot boat deckhand on day 7 of 7, awake 18 hours, likely fatigued when he went overboard and died
- Sécurité
Near midnight, during a pilot transfer off a harbour entrance, the deckhand of a pilot boat went overboard while untethered and died. The Transportation Safety Board found that the tether system design and the vessel's limited recovery capability caused the death. It also found that the deckhand, on the last day of a 7-day shift and awake for 18 hours, faced multiple fatigue risk factors and was likely fatigued, and that crews on irregular schedules without effective fatigue risk management are at increased risk of impairment.
Cas CA-maritime-18Signaler une erreur
juill. 2017 · British Columbia, Canada
Tug mate falls asleep alone on watch; tug and cement barge strike channel bank
- Sécurité
At 0436 a tug towing a loaded cement barge made bottom contact in a coastal channel in British Columbia, damaging its hull and starboard propeller nozzle; there were no injuries or pollution. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found the mate, alone on watch at night in confined waters, fell asleep, and that there were no strategies in place to mitigate crew fatigue.
Cas CA-maritime-02Signaler une erreur
oct. 2016 · British Columbia, Canada
Lone watchkeeper falls asleep; US tug grounds and spills diesel off British Columbia
- Sécurité
A US-registered articulated tug-barge struck a reef off the British Columbia coast, breaching the tug's hull and releasing about 110,000 litres of diesel; the tug sank. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found the unit went aground after the second mate fell asleep while alone on watch at night, and issued two fatigue recommendations. The vessel and operator were American; the event and investigation were Canadian.
Cas CA-maritime-01Signaler une erreur
oct. 2014 · Nunavut, Canada
Tanker master on 3 hours' sleep and overworked helmsman both fatigued; Arctic resupply tanker strikes bottom
- Sécurité
At 6:30 am in darkness, an oil and chemical tanker on a fuel resupply voyage struck bottom in confined waters near a remote Arctic community, cracking a ballast tank. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found both the master and the helmsman were fatigued and showed performance lapses consistent with fatigue: the master had about 3 hours' sleep in the previous 24, and the helmsman, who had worked 106 hours in 7 days, was called out unexpectedly at 6 am after finishing work at 3 am. The Board found ineffective onboard fatigue management contributed.
Cas CA-maritime-07Signaler une erreur
nov. 2012 · Quebec, Canada
Pilot with untreated sleep apnea and shift work disorder likely microsleeps; bulk carrier runs aground
- Sécurité
At about 9:48 pm a river pilot with the conduct of a bulk carrier failed to make a planned course change, and the ship left the channel and ran aground. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found fatigue was a likely factor in the pilot's reduced situational awareness, noted that a sudden stop in his activity suggested a possible microsleep on a dark, warm bridge, and that a sleep evaluation requested by the Board afterwards diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea and shift work disorder. The same pilot had been involved in an earlier grounding and had a sleep evaluation in 2007, but no feedback from it reached him or the pilotage authority.
Cas CA-maritime-05Signaler une erreur
juin 2011 · British Columbia, Canada
Gravel barge strikes river rail bridge after master awake about 22 hours
- Sécurité
At 0410 a tug towing a loaded gravel barge struck a railway bridge on a major river, putting the bridge out of service for about two months. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found the master had been awake about 22 hours and was likely fatigued when he handed the con to an inexperienced mate, and that rest was left informally to crews.
Cas CA-maritime-03Signaler une erreur
mai 2008 · Ontario, Canada
Lake freighter master on 3 to 5 hours' sleep a night for five days grounds self-unloader on charted shoal
- Sécurité
At about 5:50 am a self-unloading bulk carrier grounded on a charted shoal near a small lakeside town while the master was conning the ship by eye using buoys. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found the master had slept no more than five hours a day, and never more than 3.5 hours at a stretch, for the five days before, and that this lack of sleep made him fatigued and likely affected his performance, including shortcutting navigation tasks. The ship's hull was heavily buckled and three ballast tanks were holed.
Cas CA-maritime-06Signaler une erreur
août 2007 · Quebec, Canada
Watch officer on 3.5-hour sleeps and broken rest alone on bridge; passenger ship with 156 aboard strikes island
- Sécurité
A coastal passenger and supply vessel struck an island at night while approaching harbour with 156 passengers and 25 crew. The officer of the watch was left alone on the bridge at a critical turn, overshot it and did not check the ship's position. He had obtained 3.5 hours of sleep in each of his two six-hour rest periods in the previous 24 hours, and during his familiarisation week his rest had been broken at every port. The Transportation Safety Board found indications of fatigue in crew members and that, without a fatigue management plan, fatigue-induced errors become more likely.
Cas CA-maritime-17Signaler une erreur
déc. 2006 · International waters
Sail training deckhand awake most of the previous night on short-crewed watches likely fatigued when swept overboard and lost
- Sécurité
Three days into an offshore passage from Nova Scotia, a deckhand on a sail training barque was swept overboard in heavy weather, believed to be carrying out a ship check, and was not found. With trainees unable to help in the conditions, crew members were working during their off-watch periods, and the deckhand had been awake for all but two hours the night before and below deck for only three to four hours that day. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found she was likely affected by fatigue and a loss of alertness at the time.
Cas CA-maritime-16Signaler une erreur
avr. 2006 · Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Fatigued supervisor misses hazard; explosion on offshore oil shuttle tanker kills crew member
- Sécurité
A shuttle tanker carrying crude oil from an offshore oil field was at anchor while welders repaired a cargo tank. Oil residue had flowed back into the tank and the vapour exploded when welding began, killing one crew member and badly burning the welder. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found that the officer overseeing the job had a heavy safety-critical workload and was working while fatigued, after days of continuous cargo and tank-cleaning work with disrupted sleep and less rest than required, and that the ship's safety manual did not treat fatigue as a risk.
Cas CA-maritime-04Signaler une erreur
oct. 2005 · Ontario, Canada
Laker master who piloted a sister ship for 15.5-, 15- and 7.5-hour stints moves straight to another vessel and grounds it
- Sécurité
A self-unloading bulk carrier ran aground in a river channel less than two hours after its master boarded it straight from piloting another of the company's vessels. In the preceding three days he had piloted for 15.5 and 15 consecutive hours and had one rest period of only 4.5 hours, short of the regulated 6 consecutive hours in 24. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found his work/rest schedule did not meet regulatory requirements and may have predisposed him to fatigue-related performance issues; the company had not built the rest rules into its procedures. The vessel was refloated with no damage or injuries.
Cas CA-maritime-15Signaler une erreur
juill. 2004 · Quebec, Canada
River pilot on irregular early-morning assignments loses vigilance at a critical turn; container ship aground 11 days
- Sécurité
A river pilot had conduct of a container ship on a night downbound transit. Both of his recent assignments involved irregular early-morning hours, and his early-evening nap before boarding may not have been restorative, because it came at a time when his body clock would have favoured wakefulness. He did not order a timely course alteration and the ship grounded outside the channel; it was refloated 11 days later after 109 containers were removed. The Transportation Safety Board found that fatigue may have been a factor in the pilot's decreased vigilance.
Cas CA-maritime-14Signaler une erreur
juill. 2002 · Quebec, Canada
Bosun with 4 hours off duty in 24 on an under-crewed bulk carrier knocked overboard by a released lifeboat and drowned
- Sécurité
On a loaded bulk carrier sailing downriver in Quebec, the bosun was securing the port lifeboat when it suddenly released down its davit, struck him and knocked him into the river; he drowned. The ship was sailing with fewer deck ratings than its minimum safe manning certificate required, and in the 24 hours before the accident the bosun had had about four hours off duty. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found, as a finding as to risk, that his judgment, reaction time and alertness would have been adversely affected by fatigue.
Cas CA-maritime-13Signaler une erreur
avr. 2002 · Ontario, Canada
Tug crew on a work-rest schedule that prevented proper sleep strike a navigation light; tug and barge holed
- Sécurité
At about 10:30 pm a tug pushing a barge upbound in a major inland seaway struck and knocked over a navigation light structure, holing both vessels. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found the crew's work-rest schedule did not allow proper rest and that their performance was likely affected by fatigue at the time, after insufficient restorative sleep in the preceding 24 hours. It also found that crews of small vessels such as tugs may work schedules that do not meet Canadian and international rules.
Cas CA-maritime-10Signaler une erreur
sept. 1997 · British Columbia, Canada
Coast pilot awake 19.5 hours with 10-hour sleep debt turns early in fog; bulk carrier grounds
- Sécurité
At 1:36 am in fog, a forest-products bulk carrier grounded in a coastal strait after the coast pilot lost track of the ship's position and altered course early for a narrow passage, navigating without help from the ship's crew. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found the pilot was probably fatigued: he had built up about 10 hours of sleep debt over three days, had been awake 19.5 hours, was near the end of an 80-day peak-season work cycle with irregular night assignments, and was seen by the second pilot looking tired with his head bowed. Neither the pilotage authority nor the pilots' organization had a regime to monitor pilot fatigue.
Cas CA-maritime-09Signaler une erreur
mai 1996 · Ontario, Canada
Ferry master on new 10-hour shifts with little time to sleep leaves wheelhouse unattended; unmoored ferry drifts 45 m off the terminal while loading
- Sécurité
While a passenger-car ferry was loading passengers and vehicles, the master left the wheelhouse unattended with the ferry unmoored; a steering override failed and the ferry moved about 45 m off the terminal before the mate regained control. Earlier that year the operator had cut three positions and lengthened shifts from 8 to 10 hours, so the master, who lived on the mainland, had to catch a 0100 ferry to start work at 0530. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found his judgment may have been affected by an accumulated sleep deficit caused by the schedule change. No one was injured.
Cas CA-maritime-12Signaler une erreur
déc. 1993 · Ontario, Canada
Pilot on duty 22 hours without restorative sleep on third straight assignment; bulk carrier strikes moored tanker
- Sécurité
In the end-of-season rush before the shipping season closed, a marine pilot took a third continuous assignment after two trans-lake trips instead of the required 12-hour rest. Berthing a bulk carrier in strong stern winds, he failed to stop the ship in time and it struck a moored tanker and the barge alongside. The Transportation Safety Board found that he had been on duty about 22 hours without restorative sleep, which probably impaired his judgment, and recommended that mandatory rest be enforced in assigning pilots.
Cas CA-maritime-11Signaler une erreur
avr. 1993 · Quebec, Canada
Pilot asleep at the conn when loaded lake freighter touches bottom in a river
- Sécurité
At about 7:00 am a fully loaded bulk carrier touched bottom on the side of the channel in a stretch of river rapids while under the conduct of a river pilot. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found the pilot was tired at the start of the assignment despite more than two days off, that his sleep habits during rest periods did not support his performance, and that he was asleep at the moment of bottom contact. It also found the pilotage authority had no guidance or education for pilots on fatigue and irregular schedules.
Cas CA-maritime-08Signaler une erreur

Cas 1 sur 18

Voir toutes les actualités : transport maritime

Comment la suite s’inscrit

Comment chaque produit se rattache à vos obligations

Les cotes décrivent dans quelle mesure un produit se rattache à une obligation. Aucun ne vous acquitte d’une obligation, et aucun ne comporte de garantie de conformité.

Les détails réglementaires et les données de recherche de cette page sont présentés en anglais.

Sleepfit

Soutient une obligation précise

Seafarer medicals follow Transport Canada guidance that uses the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, a tool Sleepfit does not administer. Sleepfit supports that regime by screening for sleep apnea and insomnia between medicals. It screens; diagnosis stays with your clinicians.

Évalué en fonction de la réglementation en vigueur (États-Unis).

À propos de Sleepfit

Awareness eLearning

Soutient une obligation précise

Transport Canada requires seafarers to complete its Fatigue Management at Sea e-course before a Marine Emergency Duties certificate issues (Ship Safety Bulletin 01/2026). Awareness eLearning supports the fatigue knowledge behind it; it does not replace that course.

À propos de Awareness eLearning

Fatiguefit4Duty

Soutient votre devoir général de diligence

The Marine Personnel Regulations limit hours and, at s 322(1), make fatigue a scheduling consideration. No point-of-duty check is named; Fatiguefit4Duty supports your general duty. A fitness-for-duty check, not a fitness-for-duty decision - the duty call stays with you.

À propos de Fatiguefit4Duty

Was It Fatigue?

Soutient votre devoir général de diligence

Your duty to investigate hazardous occurrences under Canada Labor Code Part II does not name fatigue, and Transportation Safety Board investigations are the Board's own. Was It Fatigue? supports your internal review. A structured judgment aid, not a determination of cause.

À propos de Was It Fatigue?

SleepWellBaby

No Canadian marine rule reaches sleep in new-parent households. SleepWellBaby is offered as a benefit to parents in your seagoing and shore workforce, not as a compliance step under the Marine Personnel Regulations.

À propos de SleepWellBaby

Forfait recommandé

Par où nous commencerions en transport maritime

Chaque forfait est tarifé selon la prévalence : toute votre cohorte y a accès, et vous payez pour la proportion qui devrait avoir besoin de chaque produit. Comment fonctionne la tarification.

Recommandé · Niveaux 2 et 3

Prevention Bundle

Le risque lié à la fatigue, de façon proactive : évaluer, gérer et former, avec le dépistage des troubles du sommeil comme base.

Solution de rechange · Niveaux 2, 3 et 5

Fatigue Lifecycle Bundle

Évaluer, gérer, enquêter : du Census au début du quart, jusqu’à l’examen après incident.

Pourquoi ce choix (Canada)

Seafarer medicals follow Transport Canada guidance using the Epworth scale; Sleepfit screens between them. Transport Canada requires its Fatigue Management at Sea course; Awareness eLearning supports, not replaces, it. Fatiguefit4Duty adds a pre-watch check. Fatigue Lifecycle adds review.

Ce que le sommeil et la fatigue représentent pour votre effectif en transport maritime.

Indiquez-nous environ combien de personnes vous employez. Votre portrait estime combien dorment probablement mal et ce que cela coûte, à partir de la recherche publiée pour le secteur transport maritime. Choisissez ensuite qui couvrir, et nous vous mènerons à la bonne étape suivante.

Voyez le portrait de votre effectif

Un exemple d’aperçu de la main-d’œuvre sur une tablette : troubles du sommeil modélisés et coût du mauvais sommeil pour 1 400 personnes dans le transport et la logistique.

Le sommeil et la fatigue : transport maritime

Ce que couvre cette page

Ce qui a changé, et ce qui s’en vient

Qui la réglemente, et ce qui est attendu

Qui la réglemente

Vos obligations

Conséquences

Sanctions

Là où la fatigue compte le plus en transport maritime

Quand la fatigue a laissé une trace

Pilot boat deckhand on day 7 of 7, awake 18 hours, likely fatigued when he went overboard and died

Comment chaque produit se rattache à vos obligations

Sleepfit

Awareness eLearning

Fatiguefit4Duty

Was It Fatigue?

SleepWellBaby

Par où nous commencerions en transport maritime

Prevention Bundle

Fatigue Lifecycle Bundle

Ce que le sommeil et la fatigue représentent pour votre effectif en transport maritime.