The US Congress has asked DNV to provide input and advice on actions to improve safety for fishing vessels.
Vice President and Regional Manager for the Americas, Blaine Collins, recently testified on behalf of DNV to the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, part of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The US Congress has decided to put extended focus on fishing vessel safety after several incidents and capsizes during the last few years. DNV was asked to provide advice from the classification society point of view.
Recommended actions
Today, only 20 out of 4500 US fishing vessels are classified. While international treaties apply to merchant ships, very few regulations apply to fishing boats, partly due their size, which is one of the major reasons why fishing remains a high risk occupation.
To raise the safety standards for fishing vessels and close the gap between fishing boats and other vessels, Blaine Collins proposed two actions. First, all fishing vessels larger than 24 meters should be built, operated and maintained according to the rules of a recognized class society. Secondly, that the US government adopt the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing vessels, a set of safety requirements for fishing boats adopted by most of the European coastal nations. Collins also recommended that United States seek and implement international, rather than national, regulations in order to work for a uniform standard throughout the world, since many fishing vessels trade outside of their domestic shorelines.
When asked about the hearing, Collins said: “Listening to the wife of a fishing vessel captain talk about the commercial pressures on her husband to fish, regardless of weather, and worrying about him coming home safely reminded me of the importance of the work that DNV does. I think that the Subcommittee Chairman, Elijah Cummings, of Maryland summed it up quite well when he concluded the hearing with comments that ‘the personal passion and convictions for safety that you shared with the Subcommittee was valuable input for the Subcommittee and you should know that your input will effect the lives and families of people that you do not know, have not met, may never meet and, for that matter, generations yet to come.’ I will remember that as a very eloquent way to keep our objectives in focus.”