Navigare 3 2013

Cape Town Agreement of 2012:
Norway is first to sign safety agreement
New criteria for entry into
force may finally result in
internationally binding rules
for fishing vessel safety.
It was at a diplomatic conference
in Cape Town in October
last year that an agreement
was reached, enabling
the entry into force of the
Torremolinos Convention
for the Safety of Fishing Vessels
and the Provisions of the
Protocol.
Norway is the first State to sign this
Bente Amandussen
Senior Adviser
Sjøfartsdirektoratet
so-called Cape Town Agreement. Ms. Ida
Skard, Director General of the Maritime Department
at the Ministry of Trade and Industry,
signed on behalf of Norway, in July this
year. Norway is already a Contracting State to
the 1993 Protocol.
AdVOCATE FOR SAFETY AT SEA
More than 35 years have passed since the International
Maritime Organization (IMO)
first attempted to address the problem of fishing
vessel safety. The UN agency adopted the
Torremolinos Convention already in 1977.
– Norway was the first State to sign back
then and again after the revision in 1993, so
it is of course of some symbolic value that
we are the first this time around as well, says
Yngve Folven Bergesen, head of section for
fishing vessels at the Norwegian Maritime
Authority (NMA).
The reason for Norway’s continual commitment
to the cause is concern for lacking
safety standards in the fishing industry in
many parts of the world.
– Norway is an advocate for safety at sea,
says Deputy Minister Trygve Svensson at the
Ministry of Trade and Industry. – We now
hope that other countries will follow suit, so
that we can improve safety standards internationally.
OVERCOME OBSTACLES
Technical and legal obstacles have until now
prevented the IMO instruments on fishing
vessel safety from entering into force. The
Cape Town Agreement addresses those issues
and the terms of implementation now reflect
the global fishing fleet in a better way.
It will enter into force 12 months after 22
44 | NAvigARe 3 - 2013
SIGNING: Ida Skard from the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry signs the Cape Town Agreement,
with IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizu. FOTO: IMO.UN
IMPROVE: – We hope the Cape Town Agreement
will improve safety standards for fishing vessels
internationally, says Yngve Folven Bergesen, head of
section for fishing vessels at the NMA.
States with 3,600 fishing vessels of at least 24
m in length operating on the high seas have
expressed their consent to be bound by it.
– The previous criteria of entry into force
made it nearly impossible to reach, seeing as
the global fishing fleet has declined so much
in recent years, says Folven Bergesen. – Now
however, there is a good chance that it will
be brought into force in the not too distant
future.
20.000 FATALITIES EVERY YEAR
Despite new and improved technology, fish-
ing at sea remains a hazardous occupation.
Worldwide, fishing is typically high on the list
of the most dangerous jobs and loss of lives
is unacceptably high. Each year, 20.000 lives
are claimed due to lack of appropriate safety
measures.
Through EU-directive 97/70, Norway has
already implemented the regulations of the
Cape Town Agreement and it will not result
in any changes for the 242 Norwegian fishing
vessels covered by the agreement.
It may however, have consequences for
foreign fishing vessels operating in Norwegian
waters. Along with the International Convention
on Standards of Training, Certification
and
Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel
(STCW-F 1995), which entered into force in
September 2012, and the ILO 188 Work in
Fishing Convention, which is expected to enter
into force in a few years, it opens up for a
Port State Control regime where foreign fishing
vessels will be controlled.
– We hope the Cape Town Agreement will
help to improve safety standards internationally,
says Folven Bergesen. – Norway already
has stringent safety requirements. Nevertheless,
fishing continues to be a high-risk profession
compared to land-based occupations
here as well. The NMA will therefore continue
our efforts to make life safer for everyone
who works onboard a fishing boat.