Previously, the requirement was only for fishing
boats to be inspected in the water when first joining
the UK Ship Register and after that inspected either
in or out of the water once every five years.
This is part of ongoing work by the MCA and its
partners in the Fishing Industry Safety Group to help
reduce the number of deaths in the industry.
Between 2012-2020 there were 52 fishing fatalities
which translates to a figure of 50 fishermen in every
100,000 losing their lives at work. To put it in
perspective, the national average across all sectors
is 0.5 fatalities per 100,000.
There are about 12,000 fishermen and 5,400 fishing
vessels in the UK fleet.
David Fenner, who heads up the fishing safety section
at the MCA, said: “Fishing is one of the most
dangerous industries with the rate of fatalities
being approximately 100 times higher than that of the
UK general workforce. These requirements are about
making and bringing about changes that improve safety
for those working at sea.”
The new code addresses crew protection and man
overboard recovery, construction, watertight and
weathertight integrity, stability, machinery,
electrical installations and in and out of water
inspections.
He added: “These proposed requirements will bring big
changes and safety improvements, there are now
stability requirements for new and existing vessels,
whilst vessels built to a standard have to be
maintained to that standard and those that were not
have to demonstrate they are safe and fit for
purpose. We know that the fishing industry faces a
number of challenges to comply with this code but
it’s been written so that responsible owners will
already be complying with many aspects of it.
“Ultimately though, there have been too many deaths
and we want to make sure we’ve done all we can to
reduce that risk with an enforceable code. The sea is
dangerous and we want to make sure we do all we can
to protect those who work in it.”
Fishing is the most dangerous industry with the rate
of fatalities being approximately 100 times higher
than that of the UK general workforce.
Approximately 65 per cent of deaths to fishing vessel
crew and 69 per cent of fishing vessel losses between
2009 and 2020 were on vessels under 15 metres; these
are most likely to be small and micro businesses.
MSN 1871
Amendment 2
The Code of
Practice for the Safety of Small Fishing Vessels of
less than 15m Length Overall
