Russia Assents to Passenger Compensation Treaty

The Russian Federation has acceded to the International Maritime Organization (IMO)  treaty dealing with compulsory insurance covering passengers on ships.

According to IMO, Yury Melenas, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to IMO, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim to deposit the instrument of accession (16 January).

The 2002 Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea sets the limits of liability for incidents on a ship involving passengers, including death of or personal injury to a passenger and loss of or damage to luggage and vehicles.

The Convention was adopted at a Conference, convened in Athens in 1974 and  was designed to consolidate and harmonize two earlier Brussels conventions dealing with passengers and luggage and adopted in 1961 and 1967 respectively.

The 2002 Protocol introduces a new procedure for amending the limits of liability under the Convention, so that any future raises in limits can be achieved more readily.

The Legal Committee at its 92nd session in October 2006 adopted the text of a reservation, intended for use as a standard reservation, to the 2002 Protocol and adopted Guidelines for the implementation of the Athens Convention, to allow limitation of liability in respect of claims relating to war or terrorism.