imo and the safety of fishing vessels: past, present and future

in length and over, flying their flag, unless otherwise provided in Annex II of the Directive. Additional
requirements are provided in Annex III (regional and local provisions) and Annex IV (specific safety
requirements). A certain degree of flexibility is allowed. Annex V provides a format for the certificate of
compliance, the record of equipment and the exemption certificate. Article 7 provides for the control of fishing
vessels operating in the internal waters or territorial sea of a Member State or landing their catch in its ports.
The Commission is also considering action to improve safety and health on fishing vessels less than
24 metres in length 1 . In this regard, it contracted a consulting firm to assess the need for and feasibility of
future Community action. Proposals prepared by a consultant and sent to fishing industry employers and
workers for their views, mainly address fishing vessel construction, stability, watertight integrity and resistance
to fire of hulls and internal spaces, machinery, electrical installations, navigational and radio communications
equipment and safety appliances. They draw, inter alia, not only on the Protocol to the Torremolinos
Convention but also the FAO/ILO/IMO Code of Safety for Fishermen and Fishing Vessels, Part B, and the
FAO/ILO/IMCO Voluntary Guidelines for the Design, Construction and Equipment of Small Fishing Vessels but
apparently do not draw upon the FAO/ILO/IMO Code of Safety for Fishermen and Fishing Vessels, Part A,
which focuses on safety and health issues, though there are some provisions on crew protection.
Proposed requirements concern existing vessels over 24 metres in length, new and existing vessels
between 15 and 24 metres, new vessels between 10 and 15 metres, existing vessels between 10 and 15
metres, new vessels of less than 10 metres and existing vessels of less than 10 metres 2 .
There are other minor instruments implemented by the European Union through some Council
Directives, such as:
Council Directive 93/103/EC of 23 November 1993 concerning the minimum safety and health
requirements for work on board fishing vessels
This Directive is particularly relevant to discussions at the Tripartite Meeting (FAO/ILO/IMO) as it
concerns primarily occupational safety and health issues as opposed to prevention of vessel casualties. It also
covers all sizes of fishing vessels. For these reasons it will be described in detail.
The Directive applies to all existing fishing vessels above 18 metres, to new fishing vessels above 15
metres and to all persons working on board these vessels, including trainees and apprentices. New fishing
vessels were to comply by 23 November 1995, and existing fishing vessels by 23 November 2002. Fishing
vessels which undergo extensive repairs, conversions and alterations on or after 23 November 1995 are also
to comply.
EU Member States are to take measures to see that owners ensure that their vessels are used
"without endangering the safety and health of workers". Occurrences at sea which affect or could affect the
safety and health of the workers on board are to be described in a detailed report and be forwarded to the
relevant competent authorities and recorded carefully and in detail in the ship's log. Such a log, or other
documentation, is to be required by national legislation or regulations. States are also to take the measures
necessary to ensure that, as regards compliance with the Directive, vessels are subject to regular checks by
authorities specifically empowered to carry out such checks.
1 Correspondence dated 1 Feb. 1999 from G. Lalis, Director, Directorate D -- Maritime Transport, European
Commission.
2 Willem van Berlekom et al.: Fishing vessel safety -- Recommendations for complementary Community action for
harmonisation of the safety regimes, Report 974382-2 prepared for the European Commission (Göteborg, SSPA
Maritime Consulting, July 1998).
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