Fishing Vessels Safety

The safety of fishing vessels has been a matter of concern to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) since the Organization's inception, but the differences in design and operation between fishing vessels and other types of ship have proved to be an obstacle to their inclusion in the SOLAS and Load Lines Conventions. The fact remains that the fishing sector, which reportedly suffers around 24,000 human losses annually, is still lacking the international mandatory safety regime which would be provided by the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol for the Safety of Fishing Vessels and the International Convention on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995, if both instruments had come into force. IMO is implementing a technical co-operation programme to provide information and assistance, at the regional level, in order to promote acceptance of the two instruments, as well as the implementation of the Fishing Vessel Safety Code and Voluntary Guidelines.