The Fishing Vessels (EC Directive on Harmonised Safety Regime) (Amendment) Regulations 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations (“the 2003 Regulations”) give effect to Commission Directive 2002/35/EC amending Council Directive 97/70/EC, which set up a harmonised safety regime for fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over.

Directive 97/70/EC established a harmonised safety regime for these fishing vessels, by applying to them the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels 1995. The purpose of the Commission Directive is to ensure consistency in the application of the provisions of the Torremolinos Protocol by harmonising the interpretation of those provisions. The Commission Directive applies only in relation to fishing vessels constructed on or after 1st January 2003.

The 2003 Regulations amend the Fishing Vessels (EC Directive on Harmonised Safety Regime) Regulations 1999. The main changes are set out in the Chapters referred to in the Schedule to the 2003 Regulations and are as follows.

In relation to fishing vessels constructed on or after 1st January 2003, various standards which were previously left to the discretion of the Administration of the relevant Member State must now instead be in accordance with the rules of a recognised organisation. These include standards relating to hull construction, watertight bulkheads and doors, anchor equipment (Chapter II), and the design, construction, testing, installation and servicing of machinery and electrical installations (Chapter IV).

Chapter III contains provisions aligning the standards on minimum bow height with those in the International Convention on Load Lines 1966, and for aligning general stability criteria with those in the IMO Code on Intact Stability for All Types of Ships.

Chapter V has provisions for alignment of standards relating to fire protection, fire detection, fire extinction and fire fighting, with those in the IMO Fire Test Procedures Code; and Chapter VII contains new provisions relating to life saving appliances.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment and a Transposition Note have been produced and a copy placed in the library of both Houses of Parliament. Copies may be obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG (telephone number 023 80 329100).

Merchant Shipping Notices referred to in these Regulations are published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Copies may be obtained from Mail Marketing (Scotland), Unit 6, Bloomsgrove Industrial Estate, Norton Street, Nottingham NG7 3JG (telephone [phone]; fax [phone]; e-mail orders [e-mail]). They may also be accessed via the MCA’s website http://www.mcga.gov.uk

Copies of the IMO Codes and of other IMO documents referred to in these Regulations can be obtained from the International Maritime Organization at 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR (telephone [phone]).

Copies of ISO standards referred to in these Regulations, and of the document referred to in paragraph 36 of the Schedule, may be obtained from BSI Standards, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL, or via the following websites: www.bsonline.techindex.co.uk, www.iso.ch, or www.tso.co.uk