ABSTRACT
Claims arising as a result of accidents to passengers on ships have provided a fertile field for maritime lawyers since the loss of the Titanic in 1912.2 An important distinction must however be drawn between international and domestic carriage of passengers. States with extensive ferry services as part of their transport network such as Norway and Greece tend to have elaborate domestic laws governing the liabilities of their passenger carriers. These are not the principal subject of this chapter. The carriage of passengers internationally involves two types of arrangements. First, there are ships which provide public transport to and from islands and between States. Some services in terms of food and entertainment are provided but the service is primarily one for transport. Second, there are the cruise ships in which passengers live for some periods of time. These ships provide many more services and are much more expensive. They may provide sightseeing at various ports and include several embarkations and disembarkations for each passenger. The navigational hazards for both types of services are similar and it makes sense that they are dealt with in a unified way. However, the hazards that relate to the “living in”
1. See M. Tsimplis, “Liability in Respect of Passenger Claims and its Limitation” (2009) 15 JIMl 123; P. Todd, Carriage of Passengers by Sea: Athens Conventions and UK Implementation (amazon.co.uk Ltd, UK, 2013) ISBN 9781494419516.
