IMO Fishing Boat Protocal Now in Force

The International Convention on Training and Certification for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F 1995) enters into force.

The STCW-F Convention sets the certification and minimum training requirements for crews of seagoing fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and above. The Convention consists of 15 Articles and an annex containing technical regulations.

The STCW-F Convention has been ratified by 15 States: Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Kiribati, Latvia, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Norway, Palau, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Spain, the Syrian Arab Republic and Ukraine, and also by Faroes, Denmark.

The entry into force of the STCW-F Convention comes just days before a diplomatic conference, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 9 to 11 October, which will consider adopting an Agreement on the implementation of IMO’s other instrument relating to fishing vessel safety, the 1993 Protocol relating to the 1977 Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels.

The conference is expected to consider and adopt an agreement on the implementation of the provisions of the 1993 Protocol. The agreement would also amend the technical provisions of the 1993 Protocol, with the aim of bringing them into force as soon as possible thereafter.