1 Introduction1

Claims arising as a result of accidents to passengers on ships have provided a fertile field for maritime lawyers with many high profile accidents bringing attention to this issue, perhaps the most famous one being the loss of the Titanic in 1912.2 Passengers’ rights and obligations visà-vis the carrier3 are of a contractual nature with the contract evidenced by the issuance of the ticket. The contractual terms are usually written by the carrier, and the passenger has little or no capability to negotiate. In the past, this has enabled carriers to reduce their liability to passengers