REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL on the progress of Member States' accession to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for FishingVessel Personnel, of the International Maritime Organisation, according to Article 2 of Council Decision (EU) 2015/799
Date: 2019-03-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, International Maritime Organisation, accession to an agreement, crew, fishing vessel, international convention, maritime safety, occupational safety, recognition of vocational training qualifications, vocational training

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.3.2019  COM(2019) 157 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL on the progress of Member States' accession to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for FishingVessel Personnel, of the International Maritime Organisation, according to Article 2 of Council Decision (EU) 2015/799  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

on the progress of Member States' accession to the International Convention on Standards 
of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for FishingVessel Personnel, of the 
International Maritime Organisation, according to Article 2 of Council Decision (EU) 
2015/799 

1.  Introduction 

Council Decision (EU) 2015/799 of 18 May 20151 authorises Member States to become party, in 
the  interest  of  the  European  Union,  to  the  International  Convention  on  Standards  of  Training, 
Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F, hereafter ‘convention’), 
of  the  International  Maritime  Organisation  (IMO),  which  was  adopted  on  7  July  1995  and 
entered into force on 29 September 2012. All EU Member States are members of the IMO. 

This convention is a significant contribution not only to the protection of fishers but also to safer 
international shipping. It promotes the safety of life and property at sea, thereby also contributing 
to  the protection of the  marine environment.  Since fishing  at  sea is  one  of the most hazardous 
professions, and fishing vessels and their crew are facing the same hazards and risks in the open 
seas  as  commercial  seagoing  vessels,  appropriate  training  and  qualifications  are  an  essential 
means to reduce the number of accidents and to contribute to the safety and security of the crew 
on board, and to maritime safety.  

Furthermore, the STCW-F Convention is also of great importance regarding the free movement 
of workers. Fishers might become more mobile having the possibility to work onboard of fishing 
vessels of all Member States Parties to the STCW-F Convention.  Therefore, the harmonisation 
of  their  qualifications  by  the  introduction  of  a  common  minimum  level  of  training  for  fishing 
vessels  personnel  will  not  only  improve  safety  at  sea,  but  it  will  also  further  facilitate  the  free 
movement  of workers. Moreover, it will establish a level  playing  field   in  the  EU and also  in 
relation to third countries. 

At present, workers onboard fishing vessels are not protected in the same way as seafarers in the 
maritime  shipping  sector,  which  fall  under  the  almost  identical  International  Convention  on 
Standards  of  Training,  Certification  and  Watchkeeping  for  Seafarers  of  the  IMO  (STCW 
Convention).  Whereas  the  STCW  Convention  has  been  ratified  by  164  Contracting  States  all 
over  the  world,  including  all  28  EU  Member  States,  and  it  has  been  implemented  in  EU  law 
through  Directives  2008/106/EC,  2009/16/EC  and  2012/35/EC;2  the  STCW-F  Convention  has 

1 Council Decision (EU) 2015/799 of 18 May 2015 authorising Member States to become party, in the interest of the European 
Union, to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 
of the International Maritime Organization, OJ L127, 22.5.2015, p. 20-21. 
2 Directive 2008/106/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the minimum level of training 
of seafarers (recast), OJ L 323, 3.12.2008, p. 33–61; Directive 2009/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 
April 2009 on port State control, OJ L 131, 28.5.2009, p. 57–100; Directive 2012/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the 

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been  ratified  by  26  Contracting  States  all  over  the  world,  of  which  only  nine  are  EU  Member 
States. 

For these reasons, the EU social partners in sea fisheries3 through their Sectoral Social Dialogue 
Sea  Fisheries  have  repeatedly  highlighted  the  importance  of  implementing  the  international 
conventions  on  the  safety  and  working  conditions  on  board  fishing  vessels  and  asked  Member 
States and the EU to take appropriate actions. 

EU institutions have also showed their commitment in this regard in the framework of the EU's 
Ocean  Governance  initiative.4  Both  the  Council  in  its  conclusions  of  4  April  2017,5  and  the 
European Parliament, in its resolution of 16 January 2018,6 call for promoting equal conditions 
on the labour market in the field of the sea and to ensure fair treatment, applying in an effective 
fashion the relevant international conventions, and establishing a harmonised social framework 
for maritime activities in EU waters. 

In the light  of the above, all Member States which have fishing vessels flying their flag, ports 
receiving  seagoing  fishing  vessels  which  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  STCW-F  Convention,  or 
training  institutions  for  fishing  vessel  personnel  are  strongly  invited  to  become  party  to  the 
convention.  Moreover,  third  countries  should  also  be  encouraged  to  become  Parties  to  the 
STCW-F Convention in order to promote safety and working conditions on board fishing vessels 
and to strive for a level playing field at global level.  

2.  Legal Basis 

Council Decision (EU) 2015/799 authorises EU Member States to become Parties to the STCW-
F Convention. Granting  authorisation  by the EU  was needed  as Chapter  I, Regulation 7 of the 
Annex to the convention falls within the exclusive competence of the Union as regards the Union 
rules on the recognition of professional qualifications held by certain categories of fishing vessel 
personnel.  It  also  affects  the  Treaty  provisions,  especially  Article  100(2)  of  TFEU,  and 
secondary Union law, in particular Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council,7 in so far as Union citizens who possess relevant certificates issued by a Member State 
or by a third country are concerned.  

Council of 21 November 2012 amending Directive 2008/106/EC on the minimum level of training of seafarers, OJ L 343, 
14.12.2012, p. 78–105. 
3 The General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the European Union (COGECA), the European Transport Workers’ 
Federation (ETF) and the Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises (Europêche). 
4 Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the 
Committee of the Regions, "International ocean governance: and agenda for the future of our oceans", JOIN(2016)49final, of 10 
November 2016. 
5 Council conclusions on "International ocean governance: an agenda for the future of our oceans" (8029/17), of 4 April 2017. 
6 European Parliament resolution on international ocean governance: an agenda for the future of our oceans in the context of the 
2030 SDGs (2017/2055(INI)), of 16 January 2018. 
7 Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional 
qualifications, OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22–142. 

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Council Decision (EU) 2015/799 not only authorises EU Member States to ratify the STCW-F 
Convention, it also encourages them to do so. It is important that all EU Member States ratify the 
convention to create a level playing field and to avoid friction between international and Union 
law.  

In  this  regard,  and  in  order  to  monitor  progress  made  by  EU  Member  States  in  ratifying  the 
convention, Article 2 of Council Decision (EU) 2015/799 requires the Commission to submit this 
progress report to the Council.  

3.  Source of information for this report 

The  Commission  has  written  to  Member  States  on  16  March  2018  inquiring  about  their 
intentions to ratify the STCW-F Convention. After only four replies were received, two reminder 
letters were sent to the permanent representations of those Member States who had not answered. 
Finally, a total of 20 Member States have replied. Out of the eight Member States that have not 
replied yet, three have already ratified the convention. For the ratifications by Member States the 
IMO website on status of treaties was consulted. 

4.  State of play of STCW-F: ratifications by Member States 

The STCW-F Convention has been ratified by nine Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, 
Lithuania,  Netherlands,  Poland,  Portugal,  Romania  and  Spain)  out  of  a  total  of  26 
Contracting States8 globally. 

As regards the other 19 Member States the following information could be gathered: 

Six  Member  States  are  working  towards  ratification:  France,  Germany,  Greece,  Ireland, 
Sweden and the United Kingdom. Greece and Sweden referred in their replies to the ongoing 
work on the revision of the current convention.  

Four Member States do not consider the ratification of the STCW-F Convention necessary, due 
to  the  situation  of  their  fleet.  Estonia  informed  the  Commission  that  it  is  applying  the  STCW 
certification requirements to fishing vessel personnel serving on board of fishing vessels larger 
than 24m in length. Estonia does not intend to take steps towards the ratification of the STCW-F 
Convention  due  to  the  small  size  of  its  fishing  sector  and  the  limited  number  (24  in  total)  of 
vessels of more than 24m.  Finland  has not  started the ratification of the STCW-F Convention 
arguing that there are only few fishing vessels flying the Finnish flag that would fall under the 
scope of this convention. Slovenia considers that the STCW-F Convention is not needed as all 

8 Belgium, Canada, Republic of Congo, Denmark, Iceland, Kiribati, Latvia, Lithuania, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, 
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, 
Syria, Ukraine. 

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vessels in the Slovenian fishing fleet are less than 24 meters of length and have engine power of 
less  than  750  kW.  Finally,  Bulgaria  considers  that  it  has  no  vessels  to  which  the  STCW-F 
Covention would be applicable.  

A  group  of  four  landlocked  countries,  Austria,  Czech  Republic,  Hungary  and  Luxemburg, 
have  informed  the  Commission  that  they  will  not  ratify  the  convention  since  they  do  not  have 
fishing vessels, fishing ports nor training institutions for working on board fishing vessels.  

Finally,  the  following  Member  States  that  did  not  ratify  the  STCW-F  Convention  have  not 
replied to the request for information: Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Malta and Slovakia. 

5.   Conclusion  

The  ratification  and  implementation  of  international  conventions  such  as  the  STCW-F 
Convention  are  of  utmost  importance  to  improve  the  situation  of  personnel  working  on  board 
fishing  vessels,  reduce  the  number  and  gravity  of  work  place  accidents  and  promote  a  level 
playing field for the EU fishing sector both within the Union and beyond.  

Furthermore, the ratification of this convention will also facilitate the free movement of workers 
between  Member  States,  as  it  creates  a  minimum  level  of  training  for  fishing  vessel  personnel 
based on international standards.  

The Commission notes that not all Member States which have fishing vessels flying their flag, 
ports receiving seagoing fishing vessels which fall within the scope of the STCW-F Convention, 
or training institutions for fishing vessel personnel have ratified this convention or are planning 
to ratify it.  

The Commission in particular notes that some Member States do not plan to ratify the STCW-F 
Convention on the grounds that they have no vessels falling under its scope or have only a small 
fleet of fishing vessels over 24m or over 750 kW. However, the STCW-F Convention contains 
important  provisions  that  apply  to  all  fishing  vessels,  despite  their  length  and/or  their  engine 
power,  such  as  the  provision  on  basic  safety  training  (Chapter  III,  Regulation  1)  and  the 
provisions on watchkeeping (Chapter IV, Regulation 1). Furthermore, also Member States which 
have  ports  receiving  seagoing  fishing  vessels  which  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  STCW-F 
Convention, or training institutions for fishing vessel personnel,  are invited to become party to 
this convention by Council Decision (EU) 2015/799. 

Member  States  are  encouraged  to  honour  their  commitments  and  finalise  the  ratification 
procedures,  and to  support  the Commission  in  its work to  promote safety  on board and at  sea. 
Ratification  of  the  STCW-F  Convention  by  all  Member  States  concerned  will  establish  a 
coherent and updated international framework, and promote a level playing field for EU flagged 
vessels and their personnel within the EU and beyond. 

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The Commission invites the Council to take note of this progress report. 

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