RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly in
relation to regulations and guidelines concerning maritime safety
and the prevention and control of marine pollution from ships,
DESIRING to establish by common agreement the highest practicable
standards for the safety of fishing vessels that can be implemented
by all the States concerned,
WELCOMING the adoption, on 11 October 2012, of the Cape
Town Agreement of 2012 on the Implementation of the Provisions of
the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos International
Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977 (hereinafter referred
to as "the Agreement") by the 2012 International Conference on the
Safety of Fishing Vessels, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 9
to 11 October 2012,
RECALLING Conference resolution 1 on Early implementation
of the Agreement, adopted by the 2012 International Conference on
the Safety of Fishing Vessels, which states, inter alia, that the
entry into force and implementation of the Agreement will make a significant
contribution to the safety of ships in general and the safety of fishing
vessels in particular; urges States to become a Party to the Agreement
as soon as possible in order to facilitate its early entry into force
and to cooperate with each other to achieve this end; and invites
them to initiate action in accordance with the Agreement without awaiting
its entry into force,
NOTING that the Agreement, in accordance with article 4(1),
shall enter into force 12 months after the date on which not less
than 22 States, the aggregate number of whose fishing vessels of 24
m in length and over operating on the high seas is not less than 3,600,
have expressed their consent to be bound by it,
NOTING ALSO that article 3(4) of the Agreement provides
a simplified procedure for signature of the Agreement by Parties to
the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, whereby such States, having signed
the Agreement in accordance with paragraph (2)(c) of article 3, shall
be deemed to have expressed their consent to be bound by it 12 months
after the date of its adoption,
NOTING FURTHER that the Agreement is open for signature
at IMO Headquarters until 10 February 2014 and thereafter will remain
open for accession,
REMAINING CONVINCED that the continuing and alarmingly high
number of fishers' lives and of fishing vessels reported lost every
year could be substantially reduced by global, uniform and effective
implementation of the Agreement,
1 URGES Parties to the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol
to consider signing the Agreement under the simplified procedure set
out in article 3(4) by 10 February 2014;
2 URGES ALSO Governments not Party to the 1993
Torremolinos Protocol to consider signing, ratifying, accepting, approving
or acceding to the Agreement at the earliest possible opportunity;
3 ENCOURAGES Governments to initiate action in
accordance with the Agreement without awaiting its entry into force;
4 REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee to monitor
the progress made regarding the entry into force of the Agreement
and to take action as it deems appropriate;
5 REQUESTS ALSO the Secretary-General to take
any such additional measures as may be required, aimed at assisting
Member Governments in the process of becoming Parties to, and implementing,
the Agreement.