Displaying items by tag: Water Transport

2nd December 2010

New EU Passenger Rights for Sea & Inland Waterways

The European Parliament and European Council have formally adopted a regulation giving new compensation rights to passengers using water transport. The regulation is expected to come into force at the end of 2012.

"People are entitled to enjoy the same levels of quality and safety wherever they travel within the European Union. I am very glad that after introducing rights for air and rail passengers, we are now also able to introduce similar rights for passengers travelling by water" said Siim Kallas, Commission Vice President and responsible for transport.

The new regulation that will enable passengers travelling by sea and by inland waterways to enjoy the same rights wherever they travel in the European Union. The information can be viewed in full from the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) website: www.imdo.ie

Below is a list of the new Passenger Rights.

•guarantee of reimbursement or rerouting in situations of cancellation or of delay at departure of more than 90 minutes;

•adequate assistance (such as snacks, meals, refreshments and, where necessary, accommodation up to three nights, with a financial coverage up to €80 per night) in situations of cancellation or delay at departure of more than 90 minutes;

•compensation, between 25% and 50% of the ticket price, in situations of delay in arrival or cancellation of journeys;

•non-discriminatory treatment and specific assistance free of charge for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility both at port terminals and on board ships, as well financial compensation for loss or damage of their mobility equipment;

•minimum rules on information for all passengers before and during their journey, as well as general information about their rights in terminals and on board ships;

•establishment by carriers and terminal operators of complaint handling mechanism available to passengers;

•establishment of independent national bodies for the enforcement of the regulation, through, where appropriate, the application of penalties.

In addition further detailed information about passenger rights in all modes of transport can be found HERE.

Published in Ports & Shipping

Tagged under

About Conor O'Brien, Irish Circumnavigator

In 1923-25, Conor O'Brien became the first amateur skipper to circle the world south of the Great Capes. O'Brien's boat Saoirse was reputedly the first small boat (42-foot, 13 metres long) to sail around the world since Joshua Slocum completed his voyage in the 'Spray' during 1895 to 1898. It is a journey that O' Brien documented in his book Across Three Oceans. O'Brien's voyage began and ended at the Port of Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland, where he lived.

Saoirse, under O'Brien's command and with three crew, was the first yacht to circumnavigate the world by way of the three great capes: Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin; and was the first boat flying the Irish tri-colour to enter many of the world's ports and harbours. He ran down his easting in the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties between the years 1923 to 1925.

Up until O'Brien's circumnavigation, this route was the preserve of square-rigged grain ships taking part in the grain race from Australia to England via Cape Horn (also known as the clipper route).

At a Glance - Conor O'Brien's Circumnavigation

In June 1923, Limerick man Conor O’Brien set off on his yacht, the Saoirse — named after the then newly created Irish Free State — on the two-year voyage from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that was to make him the first Irish amateur to sail around the world.

June 1923 - Saoirse’s arrival in Madeira after her maiden passage out from Dublin Bay

2nd December 1924 - Saoirse crossed the longitude of Cape Horn

June 20th 1925 - O’Brien’s return to Dun Laoghaire Harbour