Vessels and equipment
Fishing vessel safety depends on many different aspects, such as the design, construction, stability, machinery, fire safety, measures available to protect crew, lifesavings appliances, emergency procedures, radio communications equipment and navigational equipment. The condition of the vessel and how and where it is used, by a skilled or less experienced captain and crew, are equally important.
Minimum global standards for the design, construction, equipment and inspections of large fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and above are set by the IMO Cape Town Agreement on the Implementation of the Provisions of the 1993 Protocol relating to the 1977 International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 2012 (CTA). The CTA mirrors the provisions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which covers uniquely the merchant shipping sector.
Detailed information on the CTA can be found here:
FAO, IMO and ILO have together developed a range of useful tools, including various safety codes, safety recommendations, and technical and implementation guidelines that give practical guidance to everyone concerned with fishing vessel safety and fisher safety.
More information is available in the section Guidelines and Codes in this Web site (include internal link).
Vessel safety starts with the design and construction of the vessel. A fishing vessel needs to structurally strong, safe and fit-for- purpose. This means that it should be suitable for the conditions in which the vessel will be used and for the captain and crew that use the vessel. A small undecked fishing vessel which operates in coastal or inland waters does not need to have the same structural strength and safety requirements as a large industrial fishing vessel that operates in the ocean. FAO has been assisting from the 1960s onwards with fishing vessel design, ensuring the safety and seaworthiness of the fishing crafts, ranging from wooden canoes to steel hulled industrial trawlers.
More than 250 fishing vessel designs, produced by FAO naval architects, are available online at FAO’s Fishing Vessel Design Database. Many of the designs contain the complete sets of drawings to construct the vessels. The Fishing Vessel Design Database can be accessed here: www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/vesseldesign.