Finland Accedes to Cape Town Agreement

Finland has become the latest State to become Party to the Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety, said International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The Agreement outlines regulations designed to protect the safety of crews and observers and provides a level playing field for the industry while setting standards for fishing vessels of 24 meters length and over.

The treaty will enter into force 12 months after at least 22 States, with an aggregate 3,600 fishing vessels of 24 meters in length and over operating on the high seas have expressed their consent to be bound by it. With Finland’s accession, 14 countries have ratified the Agreement.

Finland’s accession follows IMO’s October 2020 conference on fishing vessel safety in Torremolinos, Spain, during which nearly 50 States signed the Torremolinos Declaration to publicly indicate their determination to ensure the Cape Town Agreement will enter into force by the tenth anniversary of its adoption (11 October 2022).

The entry into force is expected to improve safety at sea in the fisheries sector worldwide. It will also be a useful tool in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and reducing pollution from fishing vessels, including marine debris.

Markku Keinänen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Finland to IMO, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim to deposit the instrument of accession, at IMO Headquarters, London (18 February).