Minimum safe manning for RVS in unrestricted operations comes from Annexure F-7 of DGMA Circular No. 54 of 2025, and it is reserved for a single vessel category: Type 4 RSVs, the only river-sea vessels cleared to ply between Indian ports in all weather conditions, with none of the duration or daylight limits that apply to Types 1, 2, and 3. A vessel under 200 GT needs 4 nautical crew here.
A vessel between 3000 GT and 6000 GT needs 8, with a dedicated watchkeeping officer already required from a much lower tonnage than on any other RSV scale. If you manage a Type 4 RSV that trades without a voyage-length ceiling, Annexure F-7 is the table that decides its Minimum Safe Manning Document (MSMD), not the coastal voyage scale under Annexure F-6 and not the harbour scale under Annexure F-4.
This guide continues our series on minimum safe manning requirements for Indian flag vessels, which maps every annexure in DGMA Circular No. 54 of 2025. It is the last of five posts covering River-Sea Vessel manning, following our guides to Type 1 RSVs, RSV harbour operations, and RSV coastal voyages under 48 hours, and it closes out the RSV cluster at the type of operation those three scales all build toward.
What Does “Unrestricted Operation” Mean for a River-Sea Vessel?
Every RSV carries a type classification from 1 to 4, fixed under the RSV Notification issued by the then Directorate General of Shipping, DGMA Order No. 18 of 2013, which governs construction, load line, and freeboard standards for river-sea vessels rather than manning. DGMA Circular No. 54 of 2025 does not redefine that classification. It simply attaches a crew scale to whichever type and operation a vessel is certified for, and Annexure F-7 is the scale for the least restricted of the four.
How Are RSV Types 1 to 4 Classified?
The four types step down in restriction as the number rises. Type 1 covers vessels doing ship-to-shore work up to 12 nautical miles beyond inland vessel limits, in fair weather only, the tightest envelope of the four and the reason Type 1 gets a single combined scale in Annexure F-3 rather than separate voyage-based tables. Type 2 covers vessels plying between nearby ports, still in fair weather and still restricted to daylight hours.
Type 3 covers vessels running voyages between Indian ports where duration does not exceed 24 hours. Type 4 drops both the weather and the duration limit entirely, covering vessels that ply between Indian ports in all weather conditions. That is the operating profile Annexure F-7 exists for the crew.
Construction standards track the same split. Types 1 and 2 are built and classed to inland waterway vessel rules, while Types 3 and 4 are built to a reduced version of the standard steel ship classification rules, closer in structural standard to a genuine seagoing vessel. A Type 4 RSV is, in effect, the version of this vessel class built closest to an ordinary coastal cargo ship, which is exactly why it is the only RSV type that reaches unrestricted operation at all.
Why Is Type 4 the Only RSV Type Cleared for Unrestricted Operation?
Because the construction standard behind Types 1 through 3 assumes a limit somewhere, whether that is distance from shore, weather, daylight hours, or voyage duration. Type 4’s construction standard does not carry that same built-in ceiling, so DGMA’s manning framework does not need to cap its operation either. That is also why our pillar guide to the full circular describes Annexure F-7 as the closest RSV equivalent to a coastal cargo scale, a description this guide’s numbers below back up in practice.
What is the complete Annexure F-7 minimum safe manning for RVS in unrestricted operations?
Annexure F-7 runs across five codes, F7-a through F7-e, spanning under 200 GT up to 6000 GT. The table below is the nautical, meaning deck department, scale only. Engine room manning for RSVs is prescribed separately and is not part of this circular.
| Code | GT of Vessel | Master | No. | Chief Officer | No. | OINW | No. | AB | No. | OS | No. | Cook | No. |
| F7-a | Under 200 | NWKO (NCV) with 1 year experience | 1 | 2nd Class IV Master with 6 months experience | 1 | Not required | – | Able Seafarer Deck (II/5) or rating forming part of a navigational watch (II/4) | 1 | Rating with Basic STCW safety training | 1 | Not required | – |
| F7-b | 200 to under 500 | Master NCV or Mate (NCV) with 6 months experience | 1 | NWKO (NCV) or 1st Class IV Master | 1 | Not required | – | (as above) | 1 | (as above) | 1 | Basic STCW safety training and CoC as Cook, as applicable | 1 |
| F7-c | 500 to under 1600 | Master NCV or Mate (NCV) with 1 year experience | 1 | NWKO-NCV with 1 year experience | 1 | NWKO-NCV or 2nd Class I/V Master | 1 | (as above) | 2 | (as above) | 1 | (as above) | 1 |
| F7-d | 1600 to under 3000 | Master NCV | 1 | NWKO NCV with 1 year experience | 1 | NWKO or 2nd Class I/V Master | 1 | (as above) | 2 | (as above) | 1 | (as above) | 1 |
| F7-e | 3000 to under 6000 (see GT ceiling note below) | Master NCV | 1 | Mate (NCV) or NWKO (NCV) with 2 years experience | 1 | NWKO (NCV), additional officer rule applies | 1 | (as above) | 2 | (as above) | 2 | (as above) | 1 |
Add up each row, and the total nautical crew runs 4, 5, 7, 7, and 8 across Codes F7-a to F7-e. Only one certificate rule sits below this table, and it applies to every code without exception, covered in the certificate of competency section that follows.
How Does Crew Size Change Across the F-7 Gross Tonnage Bands?
The defining feature of this scale is how early the bridge team fills out compared with the other RSV annexures.
What Applies Below 500 GT (Codes F7-a and F7-b)?
Code F7-a needs 4 nautical crew: a master, a chief officer, a numbered AB, and an OS. That numbered AB is a detail worth noticing, since it is marked “not required” at the equivalent tier in Annexure F-4’s harbour scale. Code F7-b holds the same 4-person count but tightens certificates, with the master needing either a master NCV certificate or a mate (NCV) holder with 6 months of experience, rather than the shorter fallback accepted at F7-a.
What Changes at 500 GT When the OINW Requirements Begin (Codes F7-c and F7-d)?
This is where Annexure F-7 pulls ahead of both Annexure F-4 and Annexure F-6. From Code F7-c onwards, an OINW position, filled by an NWKO-NCV holder or a 2nd Class I/V Master, becomes a numbered requirement, taking the total crew to 7. Neither Annexure F-4 nor Annexure F-6 requires a numbered OINW until their own top tier is at 3000 GT. Under Annexure F-7, that same watchkeeping role is mandatory from just 500 GT, a full two tonnage bands earlier. Crew size holds at 7 through Code F7-d as well, with the main change between the two codes being certificate seniority at the master and chief officer positions rather than headcount.
What Applies From 3000 GT to 6000 GT (Code F7-e)?
Code F7-e adds one more crew member, taking the total to 8, the same ceiling every other RSV harbour and voyage annexure in this circular reaches at its own top tier. The AB and OS positions both carry 2 crew each at this band, and the Chief Officer role opens to a Mate (NCV) or NWKO (NCV) holder with 2 years of experience, the longest experience floor anywhere on this table.
How General Note 5 Affects Code F7-e
The circular’s general notes for river-sea vessels add a further condition here. For an RSV of 3000 GT and above, one additional watchkeeping officer, certificated to 1st Class I/V Master or above, is required whenever a voyage runs beyond 72 hours. Since Annexure F-7 covers genuinely unrestricted operation, a passage running past 72 hours is a realistic, planned scenario rather than an edge case, and a shipowner running a Code F7-e vessel on longer trades should budget for that extra officer from the outset rather than adding it as an afterthought.
What Certificate of Competency Rules Apply Under Annexure F-7?
Annexure F-7 carries a single certificate rule, and it applies at every code without exception. At least one officer on board must hold a valid Indian GMDSS Certificate of Competency, from F7-a through F7-e, with no restricted operator alternative at any tonnage. This matches Annexure F-6’s approach rather than Annexure F-4’s, and it makes sense given the operating profile. A Type 4 RSV working genuinely unrestricted routes needs full distress and safety communication capability regardless of how small the hull is since there is no fair-weather or duration limit standing between it and open-water risk the way there is for Types 1 through 3.
How Does Annexure F-7 Compare With Annexures F-4 and F-6?
A Type 3 RSV only ever needs to check Annexures F-4 and F-6. A Type 4 RSV is the one vessel classification that can find itself checking all three, F-4 in harbour, F-6 on a short coastal run, and F-7 once it is trading without restriction. The table below lines up total crew across all three scales, GT band by GT band.
| GT Band | F-4 Total Crew (Harbour) | F-6 Total Crew (Coastal, Under 48h) | F-7 Total Crew (Unrestricted) |
| Under 200 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 200 to under 500 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 500 to under 1600 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| 1600 to under 3000 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| 3000 to under 6000 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
The pattern is clear once the numbers are side by side. Below 500 GT, F-6 and F-7 already ask for more crew than F-4, and they ask for identical numbers to each other at that stage. The real split opens up between 500 GT and 3000 GT, where Annexure F-7 adds a full extra crew member that neither F-4 nor F-6 requires at the same tonnage, driven entirely by that earlier OINW rule. All three converge back to 8 once a vessel reaches 3000 GT, which suggests that at the largest RSV sizes, the nature of the operation stops changing the practical crewing burden even though it still governs which annexure, and which certificates, actually apply.
What Special Conditions Apply to RSV Tankers, Cargo Vessels and Dredgers?
The general notes that apply across Annexures F-3 to F-7 carry three conditions specific to cargo type, and Annexure F-7 is no exception.
What Are the Gross Tonnage Ceilings for Each RSV Category?
The GT limit for an RSV tanker is 3000 MT. The GT limit for an RSV cargo vessel is 6000 MT, and for an RSV dredger it runs up to 10,000 MT. This is why Code F7-e stops at 6000 GT for most vessels, since that is the ceiling for RSV cargo classification, while an RSV tanker never reaches F7-e at all, given 3000 GT is already its cap under the RSV category. A dredger working unrestricted operation above 6000 GT sits outside what this table spells out row by row, so it is worth confirming manning directly with your MMD before that job is scheduled.
When Is an Additional Watchkeeping Officer Required Beyond 72 Hours?
As covered above under Code F7-e, any RSV of 3000 GT and above needs one additional 1st Class I/V Master when a voyage, or a dredging operation carried out in port, runs longer than 72 hours. Because Annexure F-7 itself has no duration ceiling, this is the one RSV annexure where that 72-hour trigger is a routine planning factor rather than a boundary marker signalling the vessel has left the scale’s scope entirely.
Can Dredge Grade Certificates Replace Standard RSV Certificates?
Yes. On dredgers, the Master, Mate, and NWKO-NCV certificates otherwise required across F7-a to F7-e may be substituted with Dredge Master Grade I, Dredge Master Grade II, and Dredge Mate Grade I, respectively, matching certification to the dredging role rather than forcing a conventional deck watch certificate onto a specialist operation.
Do Fair Weather Restrictions Apply Under Annexure F-7?
No, and this is one of the clearest markers of what “unrestricted” actually means in practice. Nearly every other annexure in the circular, including Annexures F-3 through F-6, limits vessels under 200 GT to operation against fair-weather forecasts and conditions unless DGMA specifically authorises otherwise. Annexure F-7 carries no equivalent restriction at any gross tonnage. A Type 4 RSV’s construction standard and voyage classification already account for all-weather trading, so the manning scale does not need to add a separate weather-based concession or limitation on top of it.
How Do Shipowners Get an Annexure F-7 Manning Scale Approved?
The process runs the same way it does for every other annexure in the circular. The shipowner or manager submits a safe manning proposal, together with the prescribed self-assessment checklist, to the concerned Mercantile Marine Department. The MMD checks that proposal against the Annexure F-7 minimum for the vessel’s confirmed Type 4 classification and gross tonnage and against any additional manning. The company proposes for trading needs, maintenance, or rest hour compliance before issuing the approved MSMD.
Once approved, the vessel must sail strictly to the crew numbers on that MSMD, and registered RPSL manning agencies build their placement and joining plans directly around them. A company that does not yet hold Recruitment and Placement Service Licence (RPSL) status needs that licence before it can place crew against an approved MSMD at all, and the RPSL licence registration process is worth reviewing in detail before a company takes on its first RSV crewing contract.
Officers standing watch under Annexure F-7 also need a valid GMDSS qualification at every tier, given the annexure’s single, non-negotiable certificate rule, and a directory of GMDSS training courses can point new officers to where that certificate is obtained. For the full text of Annexure F-7 alongside every other scale in the circular.
FAQs
What is Annexure F-7 of DGMA Circular No. 54 of 2025?
Annexure F-7 is the minimum safe manning scale for river-sea vessels of type 4 engaged in unrestricted operation. It sets deck department crew numbers and a single GMDSS certificate rule across five gross tonnage codes, F7-a through F7-e, from under 200 GT up to 6000 GT.
Which vessels does Annexure F-7 apply to?
Annexure F-7 applies only to self-propelled river-sea vessels classed as Type 4, the RSV type built to operate between Indian ports in all weather conditions without a voyage-duration ceiling.
What does “unrestricted operation” mean under Annexure F-7?
It means the vessel is not limited by the fair-weather, daylight-hours, or voyage-duration restrictions that apply to RSV types 1, 2, and 3. Type 4 is the only RSV classification built and certified to operate this way.
How many crew does a vessel need under Code F7-a?
Code F7-a, for RSVs under 200 GT, needs 4 nautical crew: 1 master, 1 chief officer, 1 AB, and 1 rating covering the OS position with basic STCW safety training. No separate OINW or Cook is required at this tier.
When does an OINW become a numbered requirement under Annexure F-7?
From Code F7-c onwards, meaning 500 GT and above, an OINW position filled by an NWKO-NCV holder or a 2nd Class I/V master becomes mandatory. This is considerably earlier than Annexures F-4 or F-6, both of which only require a numbered OINW from 3000 GT.
What is the difference between Annexure F-6 and Annexure F-7?
Annexure F-6 covers Types 3 and 4 on coastal voyages capped at 48 hours. Annexure F-7 covers only Type 4 on genuinely unrestricted operation with no voyage-length ceiling. Between 500 GT and 3000 GT, Annexure F-7 requires one more crew member than Annexure F-6 at the same tonnage, driven by its earlier OINW requirement.
Does Annexure F-7 apply to RSV tankers above 3000 GT?
No. The GT limit for an RSV tanker is 3000 MT under the circular’s general notes for river-sea vessels, so a tanker never reaches the F7-e tier. A vessel operating above that ceiling would need to be reassessed outside the RSV tanker category entirely.
Can a dredger use dredge-grade certificates instead of standard RSV certificates under F-7?
Yes. On dredgers, Master, Mate, and NWKO-NCV certificates may be substituted with Dredge Master Grade I, Dredge Master Grade II, and Dredge Mate Grade I, respectively, matching certification to the dredging role rather than a conventional deck watch.
What happens if a voyage or dredging operation under F-7 exceeds 72 hours?
For an RSV of 3000 GT and above, one additional watchkeeping officer certificated to 1st Class I/V Master or above is required once a voyage, or a dredging operation carried out in port, runs beyond 72 hours. Since Annexure F-7 has no built-in duration limit, this is a routine planning consideration rather than an exception.
Who approves the Minimum Safe Manning Document for an RSV under Annexure F-7?
The concerned Mercantile Marine Department reviews the shipowner’s manning proposal against the Annexure F-7 minimum for the vessel’s confirmed type 4 classification and gross tonnage, then issues the MSMD. The vessel must sail strictly to that approved document once issued.