What is the minimum safe manning for your ship, where is it required, and what does the Safe Manning Document contain?
Short answer
| Item | Minimum Safe Manning Document |
|---|---|
| Issued by | the flag Administration (DGMA for an Indian ship) under SOLAS V/14 |
| Based on | resolution A.1047(27): size, type, machinery, trading area, automation |
| States | the minimum number and grade of officers and ratings, radio provision, conditions |
| Legal effect | the ship shall not proceed to sea manned below it |
| Bound by | STCW A-VIII/1 rest hours: 10 in any 24, 77 in any 7 days |
- Where: SOLAS V/14 (the Administration sets it by a transparent procedure and issues the document); IMO resolution A.1047(27); India: MS Act 2025 s.45.
- How much: no single number; ship-specific, set by the flag for size, type, UMS or manned machinery, trading area and automation; the company may man above the document, never below.
- Rest hours bound it: STCW A-VIII/1 (10 hours in any 24, 77 in any 7 days); the crew must run the ship within them.
- The document: a statutory certificate from the flag (DGMA in India), shown at PSC: particulars, minimum number and grade of officers and ratings, radio provision, conditions such as trading area and UMS.
- Trap: a safety floor, not an efficiency target; meeting it on paper while breaching rest hours is not safe manning.
- As Chief Engineer: the MSMD complement is my minimum; I escalate when watchkeeping, maintenance or repairs cannot be delivered within rest hours.
Full answer
The full answer explains each point step by step, with the regulations and figures behind it and the discussion from other candidates. It is in the MEO Class I section of the Marine One forum, open to members enrolled for the MEO Class I exam.