What Is the Minimum Safe Manning Scale for Type 4 River-Sea Passenger Vessels?

Minimum safe manning for Type 4 River-Sea passenger vessels comes from Annexure G-6 of DGMA Circular No. 54 of 2025, and it covers Type 4 RSVs carrying passengers, including Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax configurations, specifically where the vessel carries more than 12 and not more than 400 passengers. A vessel under 500 GT needs 7 nautical crew. A vessel at 6000 GT and above needs 11, with foreign-going certificates required at master and mate level for the first time on this scale.

If you manage a Type 4 river-sea ferry or Ro-Pax vessel within that passenger range, Annexure G-6 decides what goes on its Minimum Safe Manning Document (MSMD), not Annexure G-5’s Type 3 scale and not the general RSV cargo scales that would apply if the vessel fell outside that passenger count.

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 follows directly on from our guide to Annexure G-5 for Type 3 River-Sea passenger vessels, and the two annexures are built to be read together, since G-5 and G-6 crew the same broad category of vessel split only by RSV type. It also connects back to our guide to Annexure F-7 for River-Sea Vessels in unrestricted operation, the other annexure in the circular reserved exclusively for Type 4 RSVs.

What Vessels Does Annexure G-6 Cover?

Annexure G governs passenger ships, Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax vessels, and special trade passenger vessels across the whole circular. Annexures G-1 through G-4 cover seagoing passenger vessels split by voyage zone, from international trade down to a five nautical mile fair-weather hop between two Indian ports. Annexure G-6 sits in the separate River-Sea branch of that same structure, alongside Annexure G-5, and it covers Type 4 RSVs specifically, the vessel type built to the least restricted operating envelope of the four RSV classifications once they are carrying passengers.

How Does This Differ From Annexure G-5?

Annexure G-5 covers the equivalent Type 3 RSV passenger vessels. The two annexures share an identical structure, the same six ranks, broadly the same gross tonnage progression, and the same certificate rule, but Annexure G-6 asks for more crew at several tiers, driven by an OINW requirement that appears far earlier on the Type 4 scale. The full comparison sits later in this guide.

Why Does Annexure G-6 Set a 12 to 400 Passenger Range?

The lower bound follows the standard international definition used across maritime regulation generally, where a vessel carrying 12 passengers or fewer is not treated as a passenger ship at all, even if some of the people aboard have paid for the trip. The upper bound of 400 appears to mark the limit of what this particular manning table is designed to crew safely with the ratings complement it prescribes. Both boundaries matter in practice, since a vessel that drifts outside this range on a given sailing is, strictly speaking, no longer inside Annexure G-6’s stated scope.

What Happens Outside the 12 to 400 Passenger Range?

This is a genuine boundary worth working through rather than skating past, since it affects how a vessel operator plans crewing for a Type 4 RSV that does not sit neatly inside the 12 to 400 passenger bracket.

What Applies to a Type 4 RSV Carrying 12 Passengers or Fewer?

A Type 4 RSV carrying 12 passengers or fewer falls outside the international definition of a passenger ship, and Annexure G-6’s own title reflects that by starting its range at “more than 12”. A vessel of that description would instead be crewed against the general RSV scales for Type 4 vessels, most likely Annexure F-7 for unrestricted operation or, if the vessel’s operating pattern fits, one of the other Type 4 RSV scales, rather than against Annexure G-6.

What Applies to a Type 4 RSV Carrying More Than 400 Passengers?

This is where the circular leaves a genuine gap rather than a clear answer. Annexure G-6 does not extend upward past 400 passengers, and no other annexure in the circular appears to step in specifically for a River-Sea passenger vessel above that count. A shipowner planning a Type 4 RSV for a passenger load above 400 needs to raise that manning question directly with the concerned Mercantile Marine Department before the vessel goes into service, rather than assuming Annexure G-6’s top code stretches to cover it.

What is the complete Annexure G-6 minimum safe manning for Type 4 river-sea passenger vessels table?

Annexure G-6 runs across four gross tonnage codes, G6-a through G6-d, spanning under 500 GT up to 6000 GT and above, with Code G6-d itself split into two very different crews on either side of the 6000 GT line. The table below is the nautical, meaning deck, department scale only. Engine room manning for River-Sea passenger vessels 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.

G6-a

Under 500

Master NCV (500 GT) or Mate NCV with 6 months experience

1

Mate NCV or NWKO NCV with 1 year experience

1

Not required

–

Able Seafarer Deck (II/5) or rating forming part of a navigational watch (II/4)

2

Rating with Basic STCW safety training

2

Basic STCW safety training and CoC as Cook, as applicable

1

G6-b

500 to under 1600

Master NCV or Mate NCV with 1 year experience

1

Mate NCV or NWKO NCV with 1 year experience

1

NWKO NCV

1

(as above)

3

(as above)

3

(as above)

1

G6-c

1600 to under 3000

Master NCV

1

Mate NCV or NWKO NCV with 1 year experience

1

NWKO NCV

1

(as above)

3

(as above)

3

(as above)

1

G6-d (3000 to under 6000)

3000 to under 6000

Master NCV

1

Mate NCV

1

NWKO NCV

1

(as above)

3

(as above)

3

(as above)

1

G6-d (6000 and above)

6000 and above

Master FG

1

Mate FG

1

2nd Mate FG or NWKO NCV

2

(as above)

3

(as above)

3

(as above)

1

Add up each row and the total nautical crew runs 7, 10, 10, 10, and 11 across the five bands. Worth flagging: the circular gives both the 3000 to under 6000 GT band and the 6000 and above band the same reference code, G6-d, even though their crew and certificate requirements are quite different, unlike Annexure G-5, where the top band is not given a printed code at all.

How Does Crew Size Change Across the G-6 Gross Tonnage Bands?

What Applies Below 500 GT (Code G6-a)?

Code G6-a needs 7 nautical crew: a master, a chief officer, 2 AB ratings, 2 OS ratings, and a cook, with no OINW at this size. This matches Annexure G-5’s own smallest code exactly, both in headcount and in rank structure.

What Changes at 500 GT When do the OINW requirements begin (codes G6-b and G6-c)?

This is where Annexure G-6 pulls ahead of Annexure G-5. From Code G6-b onwards, meaning 500 GT and above, a numbered OINW position, filled by an NWKO NCV holder, becomes a fixed requirement, taking the total crew to 10 and adding a third AB and a third OS at the same time. Crew size then holds flat at 10 through Code G6-c, with the only change between the two codes being a firmer master’s certificate requirement.

What Applies From 3000 GT Under Code G6-d?

Code G6-d covers everything from 3000 GT upward, but it does so in two distinct steps rather than one. From 3000 to under 6000 GT, the crew stays at 10, matching Codes G6-b and G6-c, with NCV certificates still accepted throughout. From 6000 GT upward, within that same G6-d code, the crew rises to 11 and certificates jump to the foreign-going level.

Why Code G6-d Splits Into Two Very Different Crews

Most annexures in this circular give every distinct crew and certificate combination its own letter code. Annexure G-6 breaks that pattern at its top tier, folding a genuine step change, an added OINW position and a full certificate upgrade to FG into a single code split only by an internal gross tonnage line. Anyone reading the MSMD or the underlying circular for a 6000 GT-plus Type 4 RSV passenger vessel needs to check which side of that internal split the vessel actually falls on, since “Code G6-d” alone does not specify which of the two crew scales applies.

What Certificate of Competency Rules Apply Under Annexure G-6?

Annexure G-6 carries a single certificate rule that applies to every code without exception. At least one officer on board must hold a valid Indian GMDSS Certificate of Competency across the full scale, with no restricted operator alternative at any tonnage. This matches Annexure G-5 and the rest of the Annexure G structure rather than the tiered certificate rules seen on some cargo-focused RSV scales, and it reflects the same underlying logic throughout Annexure G: a vessel carrying passengers needs full distress and safety communication capability regardless of how small the hull is.

How Does Annexure G-6 Compare With Annexure G-5 for Type 3 Passenger Vessels?

Since both annexures share the same gross tonnage bands and the same six ranks, the comparison lines up cleanly, band by band.

GT Band	G-5 Total Crew (Type 3 Passenger)	G-6 Total Crew (Type 4 Passenger)
Under 500	7	7
500 to under 1600	9	10
1600 to under 3000	9	10
3000 to under 6000	10	10
6000 and above	11	11

The two scales are identical at the bottom and top of the table. The difference sits entirely in the middle. Between 500 GT and 3000 GT, Annexure G-6 asks for one more crew member than Annexure G-5 at the same tonnage, entirely because its OINW requirement starts at 500 GT rather than 3000 GT. By the time both scales reach 3000 to under 6000 GT, Annexure G-5 has caught up to the same 10-person crew, and both converge again at 11 from 6000 GT upward. A Type 4 hull built to the same size as a Type 3 one needs its dedicated watchkeeping officer roughly two gross tonnage bands sooner.

How Does Annexure G-6 Compare With Annexure F-7 for Type 4 RSVs?

Annexure F-7 is the only other scale in the circular reserved exclusively for Type 4 RSVs, covering general cargo work in unrestricted operation rather than passenger carriage. Lining the two up shows what carrying passengers adds on top of the same vessel type.

GT Band	F-7 Total Crew (Type 4 RSV, Unrestricted Cargo)	G-6 Total Crew (Type 4 RSV, Passenger)
Under 200 to under 500	4 to 5	7
500 to under 1600	7	10
1600 to under 3000	7	10
3000 to under 6000	8	10 or 11
6000 and above	Not separately banded under F-7	11

Carrying passengers adds roughly 2 to 3 crew at almost every comparable tonnage, mostly extra AB and OS ratings for evacuation and passenger safety duties, the same pattern that shows up wherever a passenger scale is compared against its cargo equivalent across this circular. It is worth noting that a Type 4 RSV is not limited to Annexure F-7 for its general cargo work. Depending on the voyage it is actually running, it could equally sit under the coastal voyage scale in Annexure F-6, which shares several of the same Gross Tonnage bands.

Do Fair Weather Restrictions Apply Under Annexure G-6?

Yes, but only to the smallest vessels within Code G6-a. Vessels under 200 GT may operate only against fair-weather forecasts and conditions, unless DGMA specifically authorises otherwise. Since Code G6-a itself runs all the way up to 500 GT, this restriction effectively applies only to the lower slice of that band, exactly the same structural quirk seen on Annexure G-5’s own smallest code.

How Do Shipowners Get an Annexure G-6 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 G-6 minimum for the vessel’s confirmed Type 4 RSV classification, gross tonnage, and expected passenger count, given how much the applicable table depends on staying inside the 12 to 400 passenger range, 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 reviewing how an RPSL licence is registered is worth doing before a company takes on its first River-Sea passenger vessel crewing contract.

Officers standing watch under Annexure G-6 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 G-6 alongside every other scale in the circular.

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