Applying The EU Passenger Liability Regulation In Cyprus

The Department of Merchant Shipping recently announced how aspects of the EU Passenger Liability Regulation (392/2009) will be applied within Cyprus and to Cyprus-flagged ships. The regulation entered into force on December 31 2012 and is directly applicable throughout the European Union.

It establishes a regime relating to liability and insurance for the carriage of passengers by sea, based on:

• the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea 1974, as amended by the International Maritime Organisation Protocol 2002 (read and interpreted together as the 2002 Athens Convention); and
• the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Reservation and Guidelines for Implementation of the Athens Convention adopted by the IMO Legal Committee on October 19 2006.