Reactions from some in the industry to the latest changes to the Code of Practice for Under15m meter vessels.
Notice to all Owners, Designers, Builders, Employers, Skippers and Crew of Fishing Vessels.
This notice should be read with in conjunction with the Fishing Vessels (Code of Practice) Regulations 2017 No.943 and the Merchant Shipping (Work in Fishing Convention) Regulations 2018 No.1106 and replaces MSN 1871 Amendment 1 – The Code of Practice for the Safety of Fishing Vessels of less than 15.
For skippers and owners getting to grips with the paperwork, here is a breakdown of the key requirements from the updated code:
Inspections and Certification
Vessels must now be inspected out of the water at least once every five years, alongside the standard in-water checks. Failing to complete the out-of-water inspection will invalidate the Small Fishing Vessel Certificate and could see it withdrawn entirely.
Construction and Modifications
Any boat built to a recognised Construction and Outfit Standard must be maintained to that standard throughout its working life.
When modifications are carried out, the new work must meet current building standards.
For older vessels that were not built to a specific standard, owners must be able to demonstrate that the current arrangements are fit for purpose.
Stability and Freeboard Rules
Newer vessels (registered from 6 September 2021 onwards) must meet strict stability criteria based specifically on their method of fishing.
Older vessels are required to conduct a Roll Test or Heel Test. Crucially, these stability tests must now be repeated every five years in the exact same conditions as the initial test.
If a vessel does not require a full Stability Information Book, it must display a Wolfson Stability Notice on board to give the crew clear information on how loading affects the boat's stability.
Changing a vessel's fishing method to one it has not previously undertaken now requires prior MCA approval, and the boat will have to comply with the newest stability requirements for that specific gear.
Operating Limits
Open vessels are restricted to operating no more than 20 miles from a safe haven, and only in favourable weather conditions.
Decked vessels with a freeboard of less than 300mm face the exact same 20-mile, favourable-weather restrictions. Additionally, any decked boat with less than 200mm of freeboard is automatically classed as an open vessel under the new rules.
Crew Protection and Deck Safety
The code introduces tighter requirements for working areas. Decks must be non-slip, and there are stricter rules covering the provision of handrails, grab rails, and the safe securing of winches, hauling gear, and heavy items.
Finally, owners must ensure they have a fully up-to-date health and safety risk assessment completed for the vessel.
Some of the Reactions:
The extracted comments, including the initial post, have been cleared of metadata and names as requested:
This has cost me tens of thousands of pounds. I’ve spent a huge amount bringing a 22-year-old fishing vessel up to standards that at times feel closer to new-build requirements, only to feel like the goalposts keep moving. Nobody in fishing is against genuine safety improvements. We all want to come home safely. But regulation has to be practical, consistent and achievable for existing vessels. One of the biggest problems is consistency. Different officials can interpret requirements differently, leaving fishermen unsure exactly what standard they’re expected to meet. You can be told to alter something at considerable expense, then pay again for it to be inspected.
Then there are the delays. If an alteration requires MCA approval or inspection, fishermen shouldn’t be left waiting weeks for somebody to attend while the vessel is tied alongside earning nothing. Downtime is a cost just as surely as the repair itself. All of this is falling on individual owners alongside increasing paperwork, fuel, engineering, equipment and general operating costs. Unlike many businesses, we can’t simply add those increases onto the price of the fish we land. There also needs to be recognition that retrofitting a working vessel built more than 20 years ago is fundamentally different from designing a new vessel from scratch. Some modern requirements are extremely difficult and disproportionately expensive to incorporate retrospectively. Safety regulation should make fishermen safer. It shouldn’t create such financial and mental pressure that owners are pushed to breaking point trying to keep their vessels compliant and their businesses alive. We need one clear interpretation of the rules, realistic standards for existing vessels, sensible transition periods, and enough MCA inspectors so vessels aren’t unnecessarily tied up waiting.
Fishermen aren’t asking to avoid safety rules. We’re asking for a fair, consistent and workable system.
Completely finished the inshore sector ,so many boys have had to get out .the cost and stress to fishermen and families is un bearable for most .cost implications now put boys in debt forced to go single handed,fish in rougher conditions and longer hours alone .its cost to some health wise from going through this is criminal the whole thing needs looking at from top to bottom especially the vindictive Ness of some inspections
banning of donkey drains on small netters completely flummoxed me ,safest way of clearing the deck of weed and water quickly and safely now ive got to clean weed from the bilge pump constantly to drain the deck safely.
We need to draft a letter of no confidence signed by as many fisherman as possible pointing out how the MCA are actively endangering life's and present it publicly with as much press as possible to the head of the MCA . Public humiliation is the only thing they understand.
They don't want a small boat fleet and are doing there best to get rid of it
they have been for years
Yet if somebody reports you about something they can be there within a few hours
Been saying this for ages, boats built 20 odd years ago to the then safety specifications should not be lumped in to the new build regs, in most cases it's fiscally impossible and actually a danger to stability etc, time to stand up to these inspectors as they clearly don't understand the situation in many cases.
could be wrong but to my understanding theyre not. A boat built 20 years ago has to comply with current safety regs but only to new build regs if it lapses off the register?
They rushed me for nearly £3k for the stability work, on top of around £5k for the naval architect to produce the stability book. You’d think the same urgency would apply to getting it read and approved — but now I’m being told it could take months.
What happened to Sea Fish? Never had problems you could speak to them.
So a motor vehicle is MOT'd to the requirements relevant to when it was first registered, for example seat belts. They do not have to be retrospectively fitted. Wheels, tyres, brakes, emissions don't have to be current standard either. So why fishing vessels, it doesn't make sense.
Exactly my argument
A good point, well made. People ask these questions, but they ever get answered and addressed?
Put like that it does not. However if you go to buy a business you must comply with new Building Regs though.
put it like this, I live in a block of flats built approx in the late 1970s, it has one flight of steps which would in an emergency be used as a fire escape and for fire men to access. Nowadays my flats which have 7 floors would require two stair ways! Obviously it’s impossible to build another stairway! I can both use and sell on my flat. Some things have been uprated that are practicable to be such as fire doors etc!
"Poor is the soul whose happiness depends on the whims of another."
The more MCA rules and regulations I read, the more contradictions and grey areas I find.
I unfortunately fell into this, previous issues etc and delays added a chunky cost, the MCA guys did what they could to be fair to them but nevertheless id warm people when buying a boat and going through change of ownership to factor in a good reserve of money
Down to the surveyors discretion which give the mca an open book to do what they want
I can remember when I had a charter boat and I had a problem could not skipper the boat, someone thought my young son was taking the boat got shoped MCA were there just as the boat was at sea but I had a skipper on board.
