Maritime & Shipping · Canada

Weeks of watches at sea test sleep like nothing else.

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.

Regulation changed Jan 30, 2026 Change coming Jan 30, 2027

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Who this page covers

Coastal and domestic commercial vessels
Commercial fishing
Cruise lines
Dredging
Ferries and passenger vessels
Marine pilots, tugs and towage
Offshore supply and construction vessels (also see Oil & Gas)
Shipping lines - deep sea

Reg Watch

What’s changed, and what’s coming

Regulatory change that affects how you manage fatigue in maritime & shipping: what has changed in the last 12 months, and what is on the way.

Recent changeFrom January 30, 2026

Applies across industries in 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.

Read the change

Upcoming changeExpected from January 30, 2027Within 12 months

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.

Regulatory changes checked as at October 1, 2026.

Regulation

Who regulates it, and what they expect

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.

Who regulates it

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.

Your 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.

Consequences

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.

Penalties

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.

Fatigue-critical roles

Where fatigue matters most in maritime & shipping

The roles where a fatigued worker is most likely to cause serious harm, the tasks that carry the risk, and why fatigue builds up in them.

Role	Risk	High-risk tasks	Why fatigue builds
Officer in charge of a navigational watch Rules Regulatory designation Crew member under the Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) Part 3; certificate of competency Hours and rest 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	Critical risk	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) Rules Regulatory designation Crew member under the Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) Part 3; certificate of competency Hours and rest 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	Critical risk	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) Rules Regulatory designation Licensed pilot (Pilotage Act) Hours and rest Pilotage Authority regulations and service contracts	Critical risk	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 Rules Regulatory designation Crew member under the Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) Part 3; certificate of competency Hours and rest 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	Critical risk	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 Rules Regulatory designation Master under the Marine Personnel Regulations; Fishing Vessel Safety Regulations Hours and rest MPR s 320 domestic: 6 h consecutive rest/24 h, 16 h/48 h	Critical risk	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 Rules Regulatory designation Crew member under the Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) Part 3; certificate of competency Hours and rest 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	High risk	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

Stories

When fatigue made the record

Published findings and prosecutions from regulators, courts and investigators in Canada.

Sep 2022 · Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Pilot boat deckhand on day 7 of 7, awake 18 hours, likely fatigued when he went overboard and died
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-18Report an issue
Jul 2017 · British Columbia, Canada
Tug mate falls asleep alone on watch; tug and cement barge strike channel bank
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-02Report an issue
Oct 2016 · British Columbia, Canada
Lone watchkeeper falls asleep; US tug grounds and spills diesel off British Columbia
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-01Report an issue
Oct 2014 · Nunavut, Canada
Tanker master on 3 hours' sleep and overworked helmsman both fatigued; Arctic resupply tanker strikes bottom
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-07Report an issue
Nov 2012 · Quebec, Canada
Pilot with untreated sleep apnea and shift work disorder likely microsleeps; bulk carrier runs aground
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-05Report an issue
Jun 2011 · British Columbia, Canada
Gravel barge strikes river rail bridge after master awake about 22 hours
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-03Report an issue
May 2008 · Ontario, Canada
Lake freighter master on 3 to 5 hours' sleep a night for five days grounds self-unloader on charted shoal
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-06Report an issue
Aug 2007 · Quebec, Canada
Watch officer on 3.5-hour sleeps and broken rest alone on bridge; passenger ship with 156 aboard strikes island
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-17Report an issue
Dec 2006 · International waters
Sail training deckhand awake most of the previous night on short-crewed watches likely fatigued when swept overboard and lost
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-16Report an issue
Apr 2006 · Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Fatigued supervisor misses hazard; explosion on offshore oil shuttle tanker kills crew member
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-04Report an issue
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
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-15Report an issue
Jul 2004 · Quebec, Canada
River pilot on irregular early-morning assignments loses vigilance at a critical turn; container ship aground 11 days
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-14Report an issue
Jul 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
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-13Report an issue
Apr 2002 · Ontario, Canada
Tug crew on a work-rest schedule that prevented proper sleep strike a navigation light; tug and barge holed
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-10Report an issue
Sep 1997 · British Columbia, Canada
Coast pilot awake 19.5 hours with 10-hour sleep debt turns early in fog; bulk carrier grounds
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-09Report an issue
May 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
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-12Report an issue
Dec 1993 · Ontario, Canada
Pilot on duty 22 hours without restorative sleep on third straight assignment; bulk carrier strikes moored tanker
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-11Report an issue
Apr 1993 · Quebec, Canada
Pilot asleep at the conn when loaded lake freighter touches bottom in a river
- Safety
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.
Case CA-maritime-08Report an issue

Story 1 of 18

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How the suite fits

How each product connects to your obligations

Grades describe how strongly a product connects to an obligation. None discharges an obligation, and none carries a compliance warranty.

Sleepfit

Supports a named obligation

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.

Assessed by reference to US regulation.

About Sleepfit

Awareness eLearning

Supports a named obligation

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.

About Awareness eLearning

Fatiguefit4Duty

Supports your general duty of care

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.

About Fatiguefit4Duty

Was It Fatigue?

Supports your general duty of care

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.

About 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.

About SleepWellBaby

Recommended bundle

Where we’d start in maritime & shipping

Every bundle is priced on prevalence: your whole cohort gets access, and you pay for the share predicted to need each product. How pricing works.

Recommended · Levels 2 and 3

Prevention Bundle

Proactive fatigue risk: assess, manage and train, with sleep screening underneath.

Alternative · Levels 2, 3 and 5

Fatigue Lifecycle Bundle

Assess, manage, investigate: from the Census to the point of duty to the post-incident review.

Why this pairing in 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.

See what sleep and fatigue mean for your maritime & shipping workforce.

Tell us roughly how many people you employ. Your snapshot models how many are likely sleeping poorly and what it costs, from published research for maritime & shipping. Then choose who you’d cover, and we’ll take you to the right next step.