The Cape Town Agreement of 2012 sets internationally agreed minimum standards relating to the safety of sea-going fishing vessels through the design, construction and equipment of fishing vessels 24 metres in length and over. The Agreement supersedes two earlier conventions on fishing vessel standards (the 1977 Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels and the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol) which did not enter into force. The Agreement aims to improve some of the requirements seen as obstacles to accession to the earlier conventions and lowers the entry into force requirements. The Agreement will enter into force when 22 States, the combined applicable fishing vessel fleet of which exceed 3,600 in number, accede to the Agreement. As of March 2019, 11 countries, with an aggregrate number of 1,413 applicable fishing vessels, are Party to the Agreement. As of May 2021, 16 States, with an aggregrate number of 1,907 applicable fishing vessels, are Party to the Agreement. 

The safety measures set out in the Agreement primarily apply to new fishing vessels 24 metres in length and over, operating outside of territorial waters (the Agreement does not apply to territorial waters). Some provisions apply only to new fishing vessels of 45 and 75 metres in length and over. A smaller number of provisions apply to existing as well as new fishing vessels in the 24 and 45 metres and over categories. These provisions, contained in chapters seven to ten of the Agreement, deal with life-saving appliances, emergency procedures, radio-communications and navigational equipment. Transitional arrangements of five years apply to most of these provisions. For the requirements relating to radio-communications, a transition period of ten years is allowed.