Awareness of COLREGs among Fishermen in Malaysia
Silloshina A/P S. Manoharan, Mohammed Ismail Rustam Suhrab*
*Faculty of Maritime Studies, University Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia
Corresponding Author Email: m.ismail@umt.edu.my
DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.46890/SL.2022.v03i05.003
Abstract
International Regulations for Prevention Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) is a law set up by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1972 that has set navigational rules that must be followed by ships at Sea to prevent collisions between ships. Based on data collected from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, a total of 1267 fishing vessel has been suspected of violating the law in the Malaysian Sea in the year 2020. The Department of Fisheries has conducted 15,060 inspections on fishing boats to check safety equipment and their activity atSea. Of that amount, 606 boats have been detected committing various offenses, including violating fishing areas that they are supposed to comply with, according to COLREGs. This thesis aims to study the level of awareness of COLREG among Malaysian fishermen. The study will be focused on fishermen from the Kuala Terengganu area. A questionnaire session will be conducted with fishermen to analyze the level of awareness. Statistical software for social sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel are utilized to analyze these data. Through this study, it is anticipated that the younger generation, who are new to the science of navigation, would follow the regulations that must be observed, regardless of whether fishing boats or large vessels are involved. This study has the potential to promote awareness about the relevance of COLREG among fishermen along the Kuala Terengganu coastline and community. Despite their familiarity with the marine environment and conditions, this research suggests that fishermen follow the law.
Keywords
This paper describes the study of the Level of Awareness of Fishermen towards COLREGs, including a background, statement of problems, objectives, methodology, discussion, data collection, data analysis, and conclusion. This title was inspired by a chance observation of fishermen in the Kuala Terengganu area who seemed to disregard the Colregs while at Sea. International Regulations and Prevention Collisions (COLREGs) are a law established by The International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1972, which has established navigation rules that must be followed by vehicles at Sea to avoid collisions between ships (IMO, 2019). When a vessel is underway, the COLREGS apply to it. Importantly, fishing vessels must adhere to the COLREGS when they are engaged in fishing, and their attention is diverted elsewhere. Everyone must respect the “rules of the road” at Sea, whether on the largest ship or a fishing boat three miles off the shore. With the implementation of this study, the knowledge gathered during the thesis will be able to be improved.
Background
Ships transport a wide range of products to and from Malaysian ports, which are vital to the country’s economy. Unfortunately, ships and fishing vessels collide often. According to Shaiful, the majority of fishermen today are unaware of COLREGs. This is due to several mishaps resulting from a ship or boat failing to comply with the COLREGs. The fishing vessel did not always do the right thing in the lead-up to the disaster. The fishermen contributed to the collision by failing to meet their responsibilities. The concept for this study arose as the number of maritime accidents among fishermen increased. This study was done to determine the level of knowledge among fishermen, to enhance their understanding of COLREGs indirectly. This thesis will also look at some of the standard variables that contribute to collisions in the hopes that fishermen will become aware of the issues and make efforts to mitigate the consequences of a collision.
Objective
- To examine the level of awareness of fishermen against COLREGs.
- This study was conducted to provide awareness to fishermen in the Kuala Terengganu area about the importance of complying with COLREG
- To recommend fishermen in the coastal area of Kuala Terengganu to practice the right law despite being accustomed to marine conditions and the environment.
Methodology
The combination of software applications bundled into a single package is known as SPSS (Statistical Package for the social sciences). This program’s primary use is to analyze scientific information pertaining to social science.
Pulling, modifying, and analyzing data are clean and straightforward tasks when they are done in SAV format. Market researchers use SPSS, health researchers, survey businesses, government bodies, education researchers, marketing organizations, data miners, and many more for processing and analyzing survey data by transferring survey information from Alchemy to the exclusive SPSS software. Researchers’ work is significantly simplified by SPSS, which uses the SAV format to automatically build up and import the desired variable names, variable types, titles, and value labels. Survey data can be exported to SPSS, where there are countless chances to conduct statistical analysis.
To identify the awareness of college among fishermen, I had to go through variousliterature reviews and articles related to my study. Then a questionnaire was created to require more information about the fishing vessel and crew members’ awareness. Before developing the questionnaire, I had to investigate the causes of fishing vessel accidents at Sea. Fishermen in the Kuala Terengganu region were given the prepared questionnaire. The underlying causes of fishing vessel accidents were determined by analyzing information and utilizing SPSS. The opinions and ideas of the respondents on the awareness of college were gathered through interviews and surveys that were fully completed. The interviewees were each given a 30-to-40-minute interview. They were gathered using the interviewing methodology.
According to data from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, 1267 fishing vessels were accused of breaking the law in Malaysian waters in 2020. Further research will be conducted to determine the level of awareness about COLREGs among Kuala Terengganu fishermen. In terms of data collection, a questionnaire is being prepared and produced, and a survey will be conducted among the fishing community. This will be useful in proposing a solution to reduce collisions or occurrences involving fishing vessels. Kindly refer to the figure shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 on pages 9 and 10.
Discussion
This study reveals the issues that could arise if fishermen do not adhere to COLREGs at Sea. However, there are significant issues with the results of this study, particularly with the information gathering on the subject of fishing-related incidents. The case study’s data was collected from a survey given to 30 fishermen in the Kuala Terengganu region, as shown in table 1 on pages 11 and 12.
The goal is to raise knowledge of COLREGs among fishermen in the Kuala Terengganu area, which will assist in preventing fishing-related accidents at Sea. The study indirectly educated fishermen on the significance of COLREG knowledge. As a result, the study’s objectives have been met. The data reported in this chapter show that fishermen should be familiar with and use COLREGs.
Research Analysis
These findings are related to the research topics at this study’s heart. Data were evaluated to identify and depict fishermen’s awareness of COLREGs in the Kuala Terengganu area. In this study, we may learn about the issues that may arise if fishermen do not use COLREGs while at Sea. Accidents involving fishermen and other modes of water transport are examples, as is pollution caused by oil spills. However, there are significant issues with the study’s conclusions, particularly in collecting information on accidents involving fishermen. The data for this case study came from a questionnaire distributed to ten fishermen in the Kuala Terengganu area. A total of ten questionnaires were received for this study, all of which matched the requirements outlined in the previous chapter. Refer to Figures 3,4,5 and table 1, shown on pages10- 11.
Conclusion
This study has the potential to enhance awareness of the importance of COLREG among fishermen around the Kuala Terengganu coastline and community (International Regulations and Preventing Collision at Sea). This study can be utilized as a resource for fishermen who are believed to be unaware of COLREG. With the completion of this research, the younger generation, who are new to the science of navigation, will be able to follow the regulations that should be followed for both fishing boats and massive vessels. According to the study’s findings, most fishermen have taken courses to earn a fishing license. They were exposed to little about COLREGs during the training, but a few fishermen still didn’t know what they were. This is due to the fact that the crews are not required to follow the course. As a result, we urge people who wish to continue this research to look into the extent of COLREG adoption among fishermen.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Faculty of Maritime Studies, University Malaysia Terengganu, and everyone who helped with this study.
References
- IMO, 2019). Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs) https://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/COLREG.aspx
- Development of Safety Modelling Based On Human Factor For Fishermen Zone A: A Case Study At Manjung’s District, journal Vol 11, NO.2, 2020 https://www.mimet.edu.my/v07/index.php/research-and-innovation/technical-bulletin/category/9-marine-frontier-vol-11-ed-2-2020
- Kurangkan risiko nahas di laut, Sinar online, 30 Oktober 2015, http://www.sinarharian.com.my/edisi/pahang/kurangkan-risiko-nahas-di-laut-1.445863
- Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency annual report (2020) https://www.mmea.gov.my/artikel/Laporan_Tahunan/APMM_LaporanTahunan2020_WEB.pdf. page 42
- Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency annual report (2019) https://www.mmea.gov.my/artikel/Laporan_Tahunan/APMM_AnnualReport2019.pdf
List of Figure Captions
Figure | Caption |
Figure 1 | Incidents involving ships and boats 2020 |
Figure 2 | Amount of fishing vessels suspected of violating the law in the Malaysian Sea in 2020 |
Figure 3 | Kuala Terengganu area fishermen’s association card |
Figure 4 | Fisherman registration card |
Figure 5 | Boat fuel purchase card |
Figure 3: Kemaman area fishermen’s association card
Figure 4: Fisherman registration card
Figure 5: Boat fuel purchase card
List of Tables and Captions
Table | Caption |
Table 1 | Analysis of questions and answers |
Table 1: Analysis of questions and answers
No | Question | Yes | No. |
1 | Is your boat registered under the Department of Fisheries? Malaysia/ other departments? | 10 | 0 |
2 | Is your boat license still active? | 9 | 1 |
3 | Do you know the International Regulations? Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)? | 9 | 1 |
4 | Do you apply COLREGs while at Sea? | 10 | 0 |
5 | Do you have a rank such as Master/ Ship Owner/ Crew? (Rule 2 COLREGs – Responsibility) | 7 | 3 |
6 | Is every rank/position on the ship/boat carry out their responsibilities asenshrined in the law of the ship? | 8 | 2 |
7 | Does your boat have communication tools? | 10 | 0 |
8 | Does your boat have emergency equipment such as Safety Jackets, Lifebuoys, Emergency Boxes, etc.? | 10 | 0 |
9 | While at Sea, did you receive information/data on the position of other ships? | 6 | 4 |
10 | Did you receive weather and sea conditions information before/while at Sea? | 9 | 1 |
11 | Do you know the types of lights (night) and symbols (day) for your boat type? (Rules 22 COLREGs – Visibility of Lights) | 9 | 1 |
12 | Are the position of the lights and symbols for your boat type according to COLREGs? (Rules 22 COLREGs – Visibility of Lights) | 7 | 3 |
13 | Do you use other types of lights and symbols? | 5 | 5 |
14 | To your knowledge, does fishing have a set area limit? | 10 | 0 |
15 | Do you comply with the area limits? | 9 | 1 |
16 | Do you know and adhere to the anchorage area? | 8 | 2 |
17 | Do you know the areas to avoid catching fish? | 8 | 2 |
18 | Do you dispose of garbage in the sea area according to the laws of the Sea? | 5 | 5 |
19 | During an emergency, do you give instructions according to COLREGs? | 4 | 6 |
20 | In your opinion, can fishermen who apply COLREGs help reduce accidents at Sea? | 9 | 1 |
21 | In your opinion, do fishermen need to know about COLREGs? | 9 | 1 |