The 1977 Convention, adopted at a conference held in Torremolinos, Spain, was the first-ever international Convention on the safety of fishing vessels. The safety of fishing vessels had been a matter of concern to IMO since the Organization came into existence, but the great differences in design and operation between fishing vessels and other types of ships had always proved a major obstacle to their inclusion in the Conventions on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and Load Lines.
While other vessels load cargo in port, fishing vessels must sail empty and load their cargo at sea.
The 1977 Convention contained safety requirements for the construction and equipment of new, decked, seagoing fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over, including those vessels also processing their catch. Existing vessels were covered only in respect of radio requirements.
In the 1980s, it became clear that the 1977 Torremolinos Convention was unlikely to enter into force, largely for technical reasons, and IMO decided to prepare a replacement in the form of a Protocol.
The 1993 Torremolinos Protocol was adopted in April 1993, and will enter into force one year after 15 States with at least an aggregate fleet of 14,000 vessels of 24 metres in length and over, have ratified the Protocol.
The Protocol updates, amends and absorbs the parent Convention, taking into account technological evolution in the intervening years and the need to take a pragmatic approach to encourage ratification of the instrument.
The Protocol applies to fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over including those vessels also processing their catch.
The Protocol takes into account the trend to exploit deep water fishing grounds on a large scale and to conduct fishing operations in distant waters, resulting in the building of a new generation of more sophisticated fishing vessels. To be successful in their operations, these vessels have to be fitted with advanced fishfinding and navigation equipment. Fishing vessels must also be equipped to carry out environment-friendly trawling, introduced to preserve fishing resources as well as the seabed.
The general trend in modern designed fishing vessels, if they are to be economically profitable, must include improvements in machinery and fishing gear, improvements in safety features as a whole and better working conditions for fishermen.
The safety provisions addressed by the Protocol, incorporating and amending the 1977 Convention, are included in an Annex consisting of ten Chapters. The provisions include automatically controlled machinery spaces, improved life-saving appliances, immersion suits and thermal protective aids, satellite communication systems and other components of the global maritime distress and safety system.
IMO's Sub-Committee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels' Safety (SLF) is currently reviewing the options available to tackle the lack of sufficient ratifications to the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol in order to bring this important treaty on fishing vessel safety into force. In particular, the following two options have been considered:
- development of an agreement on the implementation of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, amending certain requirements of the Protocol. Following this, countries could consider ratification of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol under the terms and conditions contained in the agreement (countries would declare that they accept the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol under the terms of the agreement, when they deposit an instrument of ratification); and
- development of an Assembly resolution to facilitate the implementation of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, under which Parties to the Torremolinos Protocol would be able to implement the necessary amendments immediately after the entry into force of the current Torremolinos Protocol, even before the amendments are formally adopted under article 11 of the Torremolinos Protocol and put into force.
The above agreement would be a new legally binding instrument, offering a firm foundation to implement the amended Torremolinos Protocol, but Parties that have already ratified the Protocol may have to ratify the agreement as well. . On the other hand, an Assembly resolution is not legally binding but would provide a reasonable basis for Member States to ratify the Protocol, while Parties which have already ratified the
Protocol would not have to ratify it again.
A correspondence group was instructed to prepare both a draft agreement and a draft Assembly resolution, and list the pros and cons for each option, for consideration at SLF 53, in 2011. The correspondence group was also tasked further to develop amendments to the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, which are needed to bring it up
to date and thereby encourage the ratification of the treaty.
The Sub-Committee 's intersessional working group on fishing vessel safety is meeting during 2010, to finalize the options for the implementation of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol and further develop he associated amendments, so that the final instrument(s) could be adopted at the Assembly, in late 2011, or by a conference.
The Torremolinos Protocol has, to date, been ratified by 17 States, with an aggregate fishing vessel fleet of approximately 3,000 vessels of 24 metres in length and over. It will enter into force one year after 15 States with at least an aggregate fleet of 14,000 vessels of 24 metres in length and over, have ratified the Protocol. The aggregate fleet total has yet to be reached.
Fishing vessel safety code and voluntary guidelines
IMO has developed, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), a number of non-mandatory instruments. These include the FAO/ILO/IMO Document for Guidance on Fishermen's Training and Certification and the revised Code of Safety for Fishermen and Fishing Vessels, 2005, and the Voluntary Guidelines for the Design, Construction and Equipment of Small Fishing Vessels, 2005.