MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON FISHING VESSEL SAFETY AND ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED AND UNREGULATED (IUU) FISHING, TORREMOLINOS, MÁLAGA, SPAIN, 21 – 23 OCTOBER 2019

Speech by Mr. Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson,
Minister of Transport and Local Government, Iceland

Excellencies, President of the Conference, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,

Fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. There are many reasons for this, such as extreme weather conditions, unsafe vessels, poorly educated and trained crews, insufficient search and rescue services, just to mention a few. All these reasons also applied to my country, Iceland, where fishing was the most dangerous occupation for centuries, with a high fatality rate.

The fishing industry has been the backbone of the economy of Iceland for a long time. Not that long ago, more that 70% of the goods export revenues came from the export of fisheries products. Because of this importance, the high death toll in the industry was generally accepted – by the vessel owners, by the politicians and by the general public. Even the crew members accepted the high risk for a better salary. At that time, safety culture hardly existed.

This situation was unacceptable in Iceland, especially to those directly affected.  Wives, mothers and daughters to fishermen knew too well the consequences of accidents at sea and campaigned for actions to improve the conditions of vessels and their crews.

Last month, my Ministry organised a conference in Reykjavik to celebrate the World Maritime Day, focusing on this year’s theme, Empowering Women in the Maritime Community. In his opening speech, the President of Iceland, and former professor of History, Dr. Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, drew the attention to the role that women have played in improving the safety of fishers, not only in Iceland but also in other countries. In his speech, he spoke about accidents that took place 51 years ago in Icelandic waters, when three British trawlers and one Icelandic fishing vessel capsized and sank. More than 60 fishermen lost their lives in these accidents that took place within just a couple of weeks. The accidents triggered a safety campaign led by women from Hull, England, who travelled to London to meet with ministers to discuss a variety of reforms to the fishing industry that led immediately to new safety arrangements for the trawlers.

The lessons learned from these accidents were also useful for the IMO Sub-Committee on Safety of Fishing Vessels, which was at that time, working on measures to improve safety, including a new international convention on the safety of fishing vessels. The chairman of the sub-committee, Mr. Hjálmar R. Bárðarson, State Director of Shipping in Iceland, became the First President and Rapporteur at the 1977 Conference that adopted the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, the first ever international instrument on the safety of fishing vessels, and the forerunner to the Cape Town Agreement.

The provisions of the Cape Town Agreement and other international instruments that establish minimum standards for the safety of fishing vessels, aim to reduce or eliminate the number of substandard fishing vessels and establish a level playing field on the market for the catch of fishing vessels. Furthermore, the application of these instruments lead to better and more attractive second-hand market for fishing vessels as the vessels are designed, constructed and equipped to a recognised international standard.

In Iceland, fisheries are and have been economically sustainable. Iceland has furthermore been a party to the relevant international instruments. In this regard, I am pleased to inform you that a legal proposal implementing the ILO Work in Fishing Convention into Icelandic legislation has been prepared and which I will submit to the Parliament in the coming week. I hope that the Parliament will finish its deliberations and approve the proposal in the spring session.

Every country that wants to improve the safety of its fishing vessels and their crews needs an overall and complete safety programme with necessary legislation in place. Comprehensive international instruments and safety standards are the most practical and economical way to ensure safety at sea for all states. For a country, like Iceland, with a small administration and limited human resources, the regulatory development work carried out within the international community on the venue of international organisations is of the utmost importance. 

Today, the provisions of the Cape Town Agreement and its forerunners are the backbone of the national legislation in Iceland concerning the design, construction and equipment of fishing vessels.

The impact of this legislation, together with regulations on education and training of fishers; and on onboard working and living conditions, has been vital for safety at sea in Iceland.  The number of vessels lost, and of accidents and fatalities at sea, are greatly reduced. In the decades from 1970 to 2010 the number of fatalities dropped by 90%, from 203 in the 70’s down to 21 in the first decade of this century.

And, I am proud to inform you that over the last 11 years, there have been several years without any fatal accident at sea – In fact, the last fatal accident, involving an Icelandic vessel was more than three and a half years ago.

Fishing has evolved from being the most dangerous occupation in Iceland, to being safe, professional and attractive to young people, both men and women.

If someone had told me 42 years ago, i.e. when the Torremolinos Convention was adopted, that the number of fatal accidents at sea in my country would within one generation drop to zero, I would have thought that person was probably hallucinating. This remarkable achievement can in many ways be contributed to the impacts of the Convention.

My message to you today is that as since these improvements were possible in Iceland, they are possible anywhere!

I wish all of us an interesting and productive conference!

Thank you.