Mr YO and his wife booked a cruise in the Caribbean Sea on 8 March 2014 with SARL Voyage Reduc (a travel agency operating under the trade name BSP Crisiere) on the Costa Magica (belonging to the Italian company Costa Crociere SpA), for a cruise from Guadeloupe to Italy from 29 March-17 April 2014. SA AXA France was the travel agent's insurer.

On the first day of the cruise, Mr YO fell on the ship. He suffered a shoulder dislocation. Mr YO sued the relevant defendants in 2016.

The Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris upheld the plaintiff's claim. Costa Crociere SpA appealed.

Held: The trial judgment is confirmed as to the medical evidence. The trial judgment is otherwise reversed. Regulation (EC) 392/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 and the Athens Convention 1974 (as amended by the London Protocol of 2002) mean that the action of Mr YO against Costa Crociere SpA is inadmissible, because it is time-barred. All recourse actions are likewise time-barred.

Article 1 of the Athens Convention 1974 relates to the definitions of the terms used, and art 1.9 defines international carriage as any carriage for which the place of departure and the place of destination are, according to the contract of carriage, located in two different States or in one State if, according to the contract of carriage or the planned itinerary, there is an intermediate port of call in another State. Mr YO's journey started in France and ended in Italy. It was international maritime transport subject to the Athens Convention 1974.

Article 16 of Annex 1 to European Regulation (EC) 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 an accident, laying down the provisions of Athens Convention 1974, concerns the limitation period for actions for damages. It states that any action for damages resulting from the death or bodily injury of a passenger, or loss or damage to baggage, is subject to a two-year limitation period. This limitation period runs in the case of bodily injury from the date of disembarkation of the passenger.

Mr YO was injured during his cruise on the Costa Magica on 29 March 2014. He continued the cruise until his disembarkation on 17 April 2014. The statute of limitations was therefore triggered on 17 April 2016. He only brought his claim before the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris on 7 December 2016. Mr YO's actions are therefore time-barred.