The Cape Town Agreement provides standards on the design, construction and equipment of fishing vessels and includes regulations designed to protect the safety of crews and observers, and provides a level playing field for the industry. On 19 October 2023, Nicaragua became 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 Agreement. The second condition—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—has not yet been met. The Agreement will enter into force 12 months after the date on which both requirements have been satisfied.

The Hong Kong Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and/or to the environment. The Convention will enter into force on 26 June 2025, following ratification by Bangladesh and Liberia on 26 Jun 2023. There are currently 24 Contracting States.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) revised its 2018 GHG reduction targets for international shipping with a new target for international shipping reaching “net zero” close to 2050 and indicative checkpoints of a cut in total greenhouse gas emissions of at least 20 per cent by 2030, but “striving” to reach cuts of 30 per cent by then, and 70 per cent in 2040 but “striving” for 80 per cent GHG emissions are now to be calculated on a “well to wake” basis.