#MarineNotice - Marine Notice 14 of 2014 advises that a revised Code of Practice concerning the Design, Construction, Equipment and Operation of Small Fishing Vessels of less than 15 metres length overall (Revision 2 dated 20/01/14 with operative date of 03/03/14) has been published.
The revision incorporates provisions relating to the carriage of automatic, float-free EPIRBs for fishing vessels of under 12 metres and for the wearing of Personal Locator Beacons by all on board a fishing vessel (Chapter 9.5). Training is also required on the use of this equipment (Chapter 8).
These requirements will be included in the scope of the initial survey, survey renewals and at intermediate declaration stage. There are other textual changes reflecting feedback from the industry, surveyors and findings of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board. These include:
- The title of the code has been updated to reflect the inclusion of operational matters;
- Stability criteria remain essentially the same but ‘roll tests’ now need to be carried out both in ‘departure’ and ‘arrive port’ conditions (Chapter 3.2);
- Existing requirements in relation to drills/musters (Chapter 8.9) and the regulation of work/rest time (Chapter 8.10) have been included in the Code;
- Text has been included to remind fishers of their existing obligations to comply with passage planning requirements (Chapter 10.14);
- The Declaration form (Annex 8) has been updated and clarified so as owners and panel surveyors are clear of their obligations under the Code;
- and References to bodies and Marine Notices, etc have been updated.
A copy of the revised Code of Practice is available on the Department’s website HERE. The most recent listing of the approved panel of surveyors and their contact details is also available via the previous link.
