Sea Time Definition

**Undersail** · October 22nd, 2011, 08:21 AM

I am trying to get clarification defining a day of sea time. Under CRF 46 10.107 they use the following definition:

"Day means, for the purpose of complying with the service requirements of this subchapter, eight hours of watchstanding or day-working not to include overtime. On vessels where a 12-hour working day is authorized and practiced, each work day may be creditable as one and one-half days of service. On vessels of less than 100 gross register tons, a day is considered as eight hours unless the Coast Guard determines that the vessel's operating schedule makes this criteria inappropriate, in no case will this period be less than four hours. When computing service required for MODU endorsements, a day is a minimum of four hours, and no additional credit is received for periods served over eight hours."

I am specifically looking for the CFRs that define a 1.5 "day" and references to the definition of "On Deck", as relating to this time for ratings of AB, and Deck officers, as well as CFR/Policy-guidance citing the proper format for a sea time letter.

On smaller vessels, deck workers do a variety of tasks including cooking and maintenance. Do these responsibilities count against a "day" in the eyes of the GG, specifically when calculating the 1.5 for 1 day on a 6x6?

**Capt. Phoenix** · October 22nd, 2011, 05:02 PM

The nmc website should have sample sea service letters.

A sea day is supposed to be while on watch but the sea service letter does not mention what you were doing.

The cfr you cited spells out the 1.5 day credit for you.

Why do you need to know all this? Knowing specifics will give us the ability to answer you better.

**Undersail** · October 23rd, 2011, 05:21 PM

I have seen several examples of sea time letters, and some of them have defined the duties performed on board as a percentage of their total time (ie cooking, maintenance, deck, engineering, etc.). I am just curious on how that would effect the number of days the CG would give towards a deck license, and why a company would write the letter as so?

**CaptAndrew** · October 25th, 2011, 06:20 AM

Originally Posted by Undersail

I have seen several examples of sea time letters, and some of them have defined the duties performed on board as a percentage of their total time (ie cooking, maintenance, deck, engineering, etc.). I am just curious on how that would effect the number of days the CG would give towards a deck license, and why a company would write the letter as so?

The thing about 1.5 days credit is that the vessel must be approved for a 2 watch rotation. There is lots of discussion about this already if you search here. As for Sea service in general, the only real difference I usually see in the letters is between engine and deck if you are looking for one license or the other. If you want a deck license ask the captain or owner to specify all your time on deck. If you want engineering or both then ask them to split the time. In any case the CG will only credit 1 day in each 24 hour period for most boats. Cooking and cleaning are part of a deckhands work so that is where it will count. It does not have to be itemized.