S.I. No. 552/2012 - European Union (Liability of Carriers of Passengers by Sea) Regulations 2012.

1. If desired, the designation of the State may include a reference to the competent public authority of the country where the Certificate is issued.

2. If the total amount of security has been furnished by more than one source, the amount of each of them should be indicated.

3. If security is furnished in several forms, these should be enumerated.

4. The entry “Duration of Security” must stipulate the date on which such security takes effect.

5. The entry “Address” of the insurer(

s

) and/or guarantor(

s

) must indicate the principal place of business of the insurer(

s

) and/or guarantor(

s

). If appropriate, the place of business where the insurance or other security is established shall be indicated.

”.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

21 December 2012.

LEO VARADKAR,

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.

INFORMATION NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does purport to be a legal interpretation)

The purpose of these Regulations is to give full effect to Regulation (EU) 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. The Regulations defers the application of Regulation (EU) No. 392/2009 to Class B ships until 31st December 2018 in accordance with article 11.2 of the EU Regulation.

Regulation (EU) No.392/2009 incorporates the provisions of the 2002 protocol to the Athens Convention relating to the carriage of passengers and their luggage by Sea, 1974 into EU Law and extends the application to certain types of domestic carriers. It covers liability of the carrier in respect of passengers, their luggage and their vehicles, as well as mobility equipment in the event of accidents. It raises the limits of liability, requires carriers to have mandatory insurance in place, and places an obligation on carriers to provide information to passengers regarding their rights under Regulation (EU) No. 392/2009.

The Regulations also gives full effect to EU Council decisions 2012/22/EU and 2012/23/EU concerning the accession of the European Union to the 2002 Protocol to the Athens Convention by amending Part III of the

Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1996

(No. 35 of 1996) thus providing in legislation for the Accession by Ireland to the 2002 Protocol to the Athens Convention.

The Regulations also provide for penalties for infringement of the provisions of Regulation (EU) No. 392/2009 and these Regulations.

1 OJ No. L. 131, 28.5.2009, p. 24

6. When acting on a proposal to amend the limits, the Legal Committee shall take into account the experience of incidents and, in particular, the amount of damage resulting therefrom, changes in the monetary values and the effect of the proposed amendment on the cost of insurance.

7. (

a

) No amendment of the limits under this Article may be considered less than five years from the date on which this Protocol was opened for signature nor less than five years from the date of entry into force of a previous amendment under this Article.

(

b

) No limit may be increased so as to exceed an amount which corresponds to the limit laid down in the Convention as revised by this Protocol increased by six per cent per year calculated on a compound basis from the date on which this Protocol was opened for signature.

(

c

) No limit may be increased so as to exceed an amount which corresponds to the limit laid down in the Convention as revised by this Protocol multiplied by three.

8. Any amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 5 shall be notified by the Organization to all States Parties. The amendment shall be deemed to have been accepted at the end of a period of eighteen months after the date of notification, unless within that period not less than one fourth of the States that were States Parties at the time of the adoption of the amendment have communicated to the Secretary-General that they do not accept the amendment, in which case the amendment is rejected and shall have no effect.

9. An amendment deemed to have been accepted in accordance with paragraph 8 shall enter into force eighteen months after its acceptance.

10. All States Parties shall be bound by the amendment, unless they denounce this Protocol in accordance with Article 21, paragraphs 1 and 2 at least six months before the amendment enters into force. Such denunciation shall take effect when the amendment enters into force.

11. When an amendment has been adopted but the eighteen-month period for its acceptance has not yet expired, a State which becomes a State Party during that period shall be bound by the amendment if it enters into force. A State which becomes a State Party after that period shall be bound by an amendment which has been accepted in accordance with paragraph 8. In the cases referred to in this paragraph, a State becomes bound by an amendment when that amendment enters into force, or when this Protocol enters into force for that State, if later.

ARTICLE 24

Depositary

12. A State Party shall not permit a ship under its flag to which this Article applies to operate at any time unless a certificate has been issued under paragraphs 2 or 15.

13. Subject to the provisions of this Article, each State Party shall ensure, under its national law, that insurance or other financial security, to the extent specified in paragraph 1, is in force in respect of any ship that is licensed to carry more than twelve passengers, wherever registered, entering or leaving a port in its territory in so far as this Convention applies.

14. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 5, a State Party may notify the Secretary-General that, for the purposes of paragraph 13, ships are not required to carry on board or to produce the certificate required by paragraph 2 when entering or leaving ports in its territory, provided that the State Party which issues the certificate has notified the Secretary-General that it maintains records in an electronic format, accessible to all States Parties, attesting the existence of the certificate and enabling States Parties to discharge their obligations under paragraph 13.

15. If insurance or other financial security is not maintained in respect of a ship owned by a State Party, the provisions of this Article relating thereto shall not be applicable to such ship, but the ship shall carry a certificate issued by the appropriate authorities of the State of the ship’s registry, stating that the ship is owned by that State and that the liability is covered within the amount prescribed in accordance with paragraph 1. Such a certificate shall follow as closely as possible the model prescribed by paragraph 2.

ARTICLE 6

Article 7 of the Convention is replaced by the following text

Article 7

Limit of liability for death and personal injury

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

1

st January

, 2013.

I, LEO VARADKAR, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 3

of the

European Communities Act 1972

(No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving full effect to Regulation (EC) No 392/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009

1

and EU Council Decisions 2012/22/EU and 2012/23/EU, both of 12 December 2011, hereby make the following regulations

PART 1

Citation and commencement