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

Part A of the Code was adopted by the first session of the Joint FAO/ILO/IMO Meeting of Consultants on
Safety on Board Fishing Vessels which was held at ILO Headquarters in Geneva in September 1968.
Later amendments to Part A were approved by the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) at its thirtieth
session in the Spring of 1973. At the same session, the Committee approved the final text of Part B which was
endorsed by the FAO Council at its 64th session (Autumn 1974) and also endorsed by the Governing Body of
the ILO at its 195th session (February 1975).
As is well known, in 1977, an International Conference on the Safety of Fishing Vessels adopted the
Torremolinos International Convention on the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977, that, for a number of reasons
had not entered into force. Consequently, a further International Conference was convened sisteen years later,
also at Torremolinos, Spain, that adopted the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos
International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977.
The point is that Resolution 4 of the Conference requests IMO to review, as a matter of priority the
FAO/ILO/IMO Code of Safety for Fishermen and Fishing Vessels, Part A and Part B. The Code of Safety for
Fishing Vessels, Part A, addresses safety and health requirements while Part B deals with the construction
and equipment related matters of fishing vessels of 24 m in length and over.
The MSC entrusted the revision of the Code to its Sub-Committee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing
Vessels Safety (SLF) and recommended that the developments in fishing vessel design and fishing operations
should be taken into consideration. The MSC also entrusted SLF to revise the Voluntary Guidelines for the
Design, Construction and Equipment of Small Fishing Vessels, that had been approved by MSC in 1979,
which addresses vessels of 12 m in length and over but less than 24 m in length. In this regard, IMO was
requested to invite , as it has been the standard practice, theFAO and ILO to participate in the revision.
At its forty-second session, the SLF Sub-Committee established an intersessional correspondence group for
the revision of Part B of the Code and the Voluntary Guidelines.
Later, at its forty-fifth session in July 2002, FAO and ILO submitted a proposal to commence the revision of
Part A. The Sub-Committee considered that unlike the current version, which was intended to be read by
crewmembers on fishing vessels, the revised version should be directed primarily towards Competent
authorities, training institutions, fishing vessel owners, representative organizations of the crew, and nongovernmental
organizations having a recognized role in crewmembers. safety and health and training.
Competent authorities would be encouraged to make use of the contents of the Code in the production of
safety and health and training materials in an appropriate format to suit the particular needs of the fisheries of
the country or region and in local languages.
The revision of the Code and the Voluntary Guidelines were approved by MSC at its seventy-ninth session in
2004.
Objectives and Contents of the Part A of the Code
So, following the statements and information provided, the purpose of this part A of the Code is to provide
information with a view to promoting the safety and health of crewmembers on board fishing vessels. It is
intended also to serve as a guide to those concerned with framing measures for the improvement of safety
and health on board fishing vessels but is not a substitute for national laws and regulations.
Its scope is limited to basic information necessary for the safe conduct of fishing operations.
There are chapters concerning
• general provisions;
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