Carriage of passengers by sea

Carriage of passengers by sea is usually carried out by a carrier or shipping company. It is compared with "carriage of goods by sea" and "carriage of passengers by air".

Recently unprecedentedly brisk economy in the Far East has brought in an increasing number of travellers to this region. Most of them come and go via airplane, and world-sized airports are operating at Incheon, Tokyo Narita, Shanghai and Hong Kong. But the carriage of passengers by sea is also flourishing. Early in 2012, Korea sees luxury cruise ships set sail in the Far Eastern sea routes.

Key words
carriage of passengers by sea, liability limitation

Increasing cross-border travellers by sea
Take an example of a luxury cruise liner going from and to Korea, China, Japan and Russia.

As a matter of fact, there has been little preparation for the cross-border travelling by sea in the shipping industry as well as academia. What if an accident takes place at Korean territorial waters or open waters?

In view of the different legal systems of Far Eastern countries, it is not a simple question to determine who has the right against whom.

Applicable laws
Suppose an incident broke out at sea. Then the maritime law part of the Commercial Act, tort provisions of the Civil Act, and various consumer protection laws are applicable to the parties concerned.

The Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974, and the 2002 Protocol of the Convention with respect to the carrier's liabilities relating to the carriage of passengers by sea will be reviewed in comparison.

Limitation of Carrier's liability
If a carrier is obliged to compensate the whole damages to the affected passengers injured or killed by an incident at sea, the shipping industry cannot survive. So most of countries which regard their shipping industry as a strategic industry to their economies, put some limitation to carrier's liability.

First of all, the general terms and conditions printed at the back of passenger tickets and the contract of carriage of passengers by sea will be applied at firsthand. Also the maritime insurance which covers the carrier's legal liability in relation to passengers’ claims will be examined.

Some related problems and restrictions have been identified and probable solutions to each issue are discussed as follows:

First, the limitation amount of the passenger carrier's liability clause in the terms of contract should be based on the statutes or international conventions and the clarity should be pursued.

Second, with respect to the burden of proof to an affected passenger, it should be noted that the passenger is not an expert and has not sufficient information than the carrier. Therefore, as the Korean Commercial Act, or the Athens Convention, provides regarding the liabilities of passenger, the carrier is required to prove the absence of its negligence in operating the ship.