Nicaragua is the 22nd State to become a party to the Agreement, thus fulfilling one of the two required criteria for the entry into force of the 2012 Cape Town Agreement (CTA). IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim welcomed the deposit by Nicaragua, urging more States to take the necessary steps to become a party to the Cape Town Agreement
The second condition of the Agreement – that the States which are Party to the treaty must have an aggregate of at least 3,600 fishing vessels of 24 metres and over operating on the high seas – is yet to be met. The Agreement will enter into force 12 months after the date on which both requirements have been satisfied.
We cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to addressing safety of fishers and fishing vessels. It is time to ensure the Agreement enters into force as soon as possible, to complete the missing pillar for safe, sustainable and legal fishing,
…Secretary-General Lim said.
H.E. Mr. Luis Erick Rodríguez Lanuza, the new Ambassador of the Republic of Nicaragua to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, deposited his country’s instrument of accession on 19 October 2023.
Once in force, the Agreement will introduce minimum requirements in the design and construction of fishing vessels of 24 meters or more in length, or the equivalent in gross tons, as well as in the inspection of those vessels by port States. It includes mandatory international requirements for stability and associated seaworthiness, machinery and electrical installations, life-saving appliances, as well as for communications equipment and fire protection.
Before Nicaragua, New Zealand was the last country to accede to the fishing vessel safety treaty this June.