IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu said that the agreement - five years in the making - is expected to bring "safety regulations in force accumulated over 35 years since the adoption of the (1993 Torremolinos Protocol)." He encouraged all IMO member states, particularly those with a large number of fishing vessels, "to ratify the Agreement without delay."
The Cape Town Agreement of 2012 will enter into force 12 months after the date on which 22 or more States have expressed their consent to be bound by it. The Agreement will be open for signature for a year starting on 11 February 2013 and thereafter remains open for accession. Enforcing a binding international safety regime is expected to help improve safety standards and reduce mortalities, Sekimizu said.
According to FIS website, The International Fishing Vessel Safety Certificate is amended to state it is issued under the provisions of the Cape Town Agreement of 2012 - as the Agreement replaces and supersedes the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol.
Read the full article on www.fis.com.
