The US Coast Guard has released revised voluntary safety initiatives and good marine practices for commercial fishing vessels.
Subsequent to the release of the working version of the document in November 2016, the Coast Guard received feedback, comments, and recommendations from several fishing associations and other interested parties. Those responses were considered and incorporated into the revised version where recommended. This document may still be revised when warranted if additional feedback is received by the Coast Guard. This document lists safety initiatives and good marine practices as a starting point that in no way precludes fleets or organizations from modifying them into a specific safety program for their specific fleet.
The document identifies safety initiatives and good marine practices for fishing vessels in the following areas:
- Certificates, documents and records
- Lifesaving equipment
- Communications equipment
- Deck safety equipment
- Fire safety equipment and practices
- Machinery and electrical safety
- Material condition
- Flooding prevention
- Periodic testing of equipment and systems
- Refrigerant safety
- Stability standards
- Combating fatigue
This is a living document and as a voluntary guideline will be used as a foundation to continuously develop safety initiatives and document good marine practices to benefit the safety of all U.S. commercial fishing vessels, USCG says.
Source: USCG
