{"id":18122,"date":"2022-09-23T20:59:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T20:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/?p=18122"},"modified":"2022-09-24T16:42:17","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T16:42:17","slug":"liability-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"Ship Liability [EU]"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Liability_of_ship_owners_in_the_event_of_accidents\" title=\"Liability of ship owners in the event of accidents\">Liability of ship owners in the event of accidents<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Key_Points\" title=\"Key Points\">Key Points<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Application\" title=\"Application\">Application<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#References\" title=\"References\">References<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Insurance\" title=\"Insurance\">Insurance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#The_insurance_of_shipowners_for_maritime_claims\" title=\"The insurance of shipowners for maritime claims\">The insurance of shipowners for maritime claims<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Scope\" title=\"Scope\">Scope<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Obligations_on_shipowners\" title=\"Obligations on shipowners\">Obligations on shipowners<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Access_to_ports\" title=\"Access to ports\">Access to ports<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Insurance_certificates\" title=\"Insurance certificates\">Insurance certificates<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Penalties\" title=\"Penalties\">Penalties<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#Context\" title=\"Context\">Context<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/liability-insurance\/#References-2\" title=\"References\">References<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Liability_of_ship_owners_in_the_event_of_accidents\"><\/span>Liability of ship owners in the event of accidents<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Passengers involved in maritime accidents must have an adequate level of compensation for any loss or damage they suffer. To ensure this, ship owners must have appropriate insurance arrangements in place.<\/p>\n<p>Regulation (EC) No 392\/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents<\/p>\n<p>It lays down harmonised rules on liability and insurance for shipping companies carrying passengers by sea. It introduces into European law the provisions of the 1974 Athens Convention on the carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea and guidelines from the International Maritime Organisation.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Points\"><\/span>Key Points<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The legislation applies to all ships flying an EU country flag, travelling to or from a European port, or under a European contract of carriage (i.e. a contract between the carrier and its passengers defining rights, duties and liabilities).<\/p>\n<p>The legislation currently applies to both international and domestic voyages, but it does not apply to domestic voyages in the course of which the ship is less than 5 miles from the coastline.<\/p>\n<p>The operators\u2019 liability covers passengers and their luggage and vehicles, as well as mobility equipment for persons with reduced mobility.<\/p>\n<p>For any injury or damage caused by a shipping incident (i.e. shipwreck, capsizing, collision or stranding, fire or explosion, or other defect of the ship), victims do not need to prove fault on the part of the carrier in order to be compensated.<\/p>\n<p>Ship operators must make an advance payment to cover the immediate economic needs of a passenger who is killed or injured in a shipping incident. This payment does not imply the shipping company acknowledges liability.<\/p>\n<p>The minimum advance payment for the death of a passenger is \u20ac21,000.<br \/>\nShipping companies must provide passengers with understandable information on their rights.<\/p>\n<p>This information must be available at all points of sale, including by phone and the internet, and provided before, or at the latest on, departure.<\/p>\n<p>The European Commission, no later than 3 years after the legislation takes effect (31 December 2012), must produce a report on how it is being applied.<\/p>\n<p>EU governments may postpone application of the legislation for ships involved in purely domestic voyages covered by the regulation. For vessels which travel less than 20 miles from the shore, the deadline is 31 December 2018 at the latest. For all others, the deadline is 31 December 2016.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Application\"><\/span>Application<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>From 29 May 2009.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, see Passenger rights on the European Commission\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"References\"><\/span>References<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Act<\/p>\n<p>Entry into force<\/p>\n<p>Deadline for transposition in the Member States<\/p>\n<p>Official Journal<\/p>\n<p>Regulation (EC) No 392\/2009<\/p>\n<p>29.5.2009<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>OJ L 131, 28.5.2009, pp. 24-46<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Insurance\"><\/span>Insurance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>EU Directive provides for insurance of shipowners in respect of maritime claims.\u00a0 It applies to ships of 300 gross tonnage or more.\u00a0 More ships and certain state-owned or operated ships for non-commercial public services are excluded.<\/p>\n<p>States must require that ships registered in their country must be insured.\u00a0 Ships not registered in the country must be insured when they enter ports within the states\u2019 jurisdiction.\u00a0 States may require that ships in transit through their territorial waters fulfil the obligations.<\/p>\n<p>Insurance coverage is subject to limits pursuant to international conventions.\u00a0 Liability limitation is only permitted in accordance with the Conventions. States must ensure that ships anchored in ports under their jurisdiction have a certificate of insurance.<\/p>\n<p>States may expel a ship where it does not have the requisite insurance.\u00a0 Notification must be made to other states.\u00a0 Once notified, that state is prohibited from entering any port within the European Union.<\/p>\n<p>The insurance certificate must contain details of the ship, registration number, port of registry, owner\u2019s name, place of business, duration and insurer details.\u00a0 It must be translated into English, French or Spanish.\u00a0 There are penalties for failure of compliance.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_insurance_of_shipowners_for_maritime_claims\"><\/span>The insurance of shipowners for maritime claims<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This Directive establishes a legal framework applicable to the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims in order to make economic operators act more responsibly and to improve the quality of merchant shipping.<\/p>\n<p>Directive 2009\/20\/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims.<\/p>\n<p>This Directive creates a harmonised legal framework applicable to the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Scope\"><\/span>Scope<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This Directive applies to ships of 300 gross tonnage or more. Warships, auxiliary warships or other State owned or operated ships used for a non commercial public service are excluded from its scope.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Obligations_on_shipowners\"><\/span>Obligations on shipowners<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Member States shall impose the following:<\/p>\n<p>ships flying the flag of Member States shall be insured by their owners *;<br \/>\nships not flying the flag of Member States are to be insured when they enter ports under Member States\u2019 jurisdiction.<br \/>\nIn compliance with international law, Member States may require that ships that are in transit through their territorial waters fulfil this obligation.<\/p>\n<p>Insurance\u00a0 shall cover claims which are subject to limitation pursuant to the 1996 convention * and shall provide cover up to the liability limitation thresholds laid down in that Convention.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Access_to_ports\"><\/span>Access to ports<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Member States shall ensure that ships anchored in ports under their jurisdiction have a certificate of insurance. Without prejudice to the provisions of Directive 2009\/16\/EC allowing ships to be detained for safety reasons, this Directive allows the competent authority to make a decision regarding the expulsion of the ship. This decision shall be sent to the Commission and to the other Member States. Once the decision has been pronounced, the ship is prohibited from entering any port in the European Union (EU) until a certificate has been presented by its owner.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Insurance_certificates\"><\/span>Insurance certificates<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Insurance certificate(s) shall include the following information:<\/p>\n<p>name of ship, its registration number and port of registry;<br \/>\nshipowner\u2019s name and principal place of business;<br \/>\ntype and duration of the insurance;<br \/>\nthe address of the main insurance provider.<br \/>\nThe text of the certificate shall be translated into English, French or Spanish if it has not been drawn up in any of these three languages.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Penalties\"><\/span>Penalties<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Member States shall establish a system of effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for the breach of national provisions laid down pursuant to this Directive.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Context\"><\/span>Context<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This Directive forms part of the policy of the European Union and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to make economic operators act more responsibly and thus improve the quality of merchant shipping.<\/p>\n<p>Key terms of the Act<\/p>\n<p>shipowner: the registered owner of a seagoing ship, or any other person such as the bareboat charterer who is responsible for the operation of the ship;<br \/>\ninsurance: insurance with or without deductibles, and comprising, for example, indemnity insurance of the type currently provided by members of the International Group of P &amp; I Clubs, and other effective forms of insurance (including proved self insurance) and financial security offering similar conditions of cover;<br \/>\n1996 Convention: the consolidated text of the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), as amended by the 1996 Protocol.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"References-2\"><\/span>References<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Act<\/p>\n<p>Entry into force<\/p>\n<p>Deadline for transposition in the Member States<\/p>\n<p>Official Journal<\/p>\n<p>Directive 2009\/20\/EC<\/p>\n<p>29.5.2009<\/p>\n<p>1.1.2012<\/p>\n<p>OJ L 131 of 28.5.2009<\/p>\n<p>Last updated: 27.10.2009<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-18122\" data-postid=\"18122\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-18122 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Liability of ship owners in the event of accidents Passengers involved in maritime accidents must have an adequate level of compensation for any loss or damage they suffer. To ensure this, ship owners must have appropriate insurance arrangements in place. Regulation (EC) No 392\/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,127],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18122"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18122"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18293,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18122\/revisions\/18293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}