On 28 December 2014, a fire broke out on the Italian-flagged passenger ferry NA while en route from Patras, Greece, to Ancona, Italy. The five claimants were the owners of refrigerated trucks and their cargoes, which were destroyed by the fire. The Piraeus Court of First Instance held that the Athens Convention 2002 was applicable. However, the Piraeus Court of Appeal overruled the decision and decided that neither the Athens Convention 2002 nor the Hague-Visby Rules was applicable, but rather national law was applicable. The defendants appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Held: The appeal against the decision of the Piraeus Three Membered Court of Appeal 219/2021 is dismissed.

International carriage of passengers in Greece is governed by the Athens Convention 1974, as amended by the 1976 and 2002 Protocols, ratified by Laws 1922/1991 and 4195/2013, respectively, as well as by European law (Directive 392/2009). European law incorporated the Athens Convention 2002 and the IMO Reservations and Guidelines for the Application of the Athens Convention.

European law and the Athens Convention 2002 apply, among others, to any international carriage within the meaning of art 1.9 of the Athens Convention 2002, ie any carriage where, according to the contract of carriage, the place of departure and the place of destination are in two different States or in a single State if, according to the contract of carriage or the scheduled itinerary, there is an intermediate port of call in another State, provided that a) the ship is flying the flag of, or is registered in a Member State; or b) the contract of carriage is concluded in a Member State; or c) the place of departure or destination, according to the contract of carriage, is in a Member State. As expressly provided in European law, the liability regime with regard to passengers, their luggage, and their vehicles is governed by it, as well as by arts 1, 1.a, 2.2, 2, 3-16, 18, 20, and 21 of the Athens Convention 2002.

According to Article 1.5 of the Athens Convention 2002 'Luggage' means: 'Any article or vehicle carried by the carrier under a contract of carriage, excluding: a) articles and vehicles carried under a charter party, bill of lading or other contract primarily concerned with the carriage of goods and b) live animals', while the same provision exists in European law. The exclusions are not covered by the Athens Convention 2002. Luggage means objects packed (in travel bags, suitcases, etc) that accompany the passenger and are intended for his/her personal use (Supreme Court Decision 376/2008) and therefore, the carriage of commercial trucks and their cargoes does not fall within the scope of the Athens Convention 2002 and the European law on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents, for damage resulting from the death or personal injury of a passenger and the loss of or damage to the passenger's luggage (Supreme Court Decision 282/2022 (CMI2137); Supreme Court Decision 1326/2008 [sic: 1236/2008 (CMI785)]; Piraeus Court of Appeal Decision 738/2009).

It follows from these exceptions that the carriage of luggage is ancillary to the passenger's contract of carriage. However, given that the Athens Convention 2002 is not intended to regulate contracts of carriage as a whole, but its exclusive object is the liability of the maritime carrier for damage caused as a result of the death or personal injury of a passenger and the loss of or damage to his/her luggage, the provisions of the applicable national law and, where that law is Greek, the provisions of the CPML and the CC, apply in addition to fill the gaps that arise.

The Court of Appeal correctly interpreted the provisions of the Athens Convention 2002 and held that they did not apply to the claims, since it accepted that the transport of commertcial trucks does not fall within the scope of the Athens Convention 2002. This is because it is not the carriage of persons and their luggage, which is an accompaniment (ancillary) to the passenger and intended for his/her personal use, but trucks which were transported under a contract primarily for the carriage of goods, so that they are not considered to be an accompaniment to passengers. Consequently, these vehicles do not constitute 'luggage', fall within the exception provided for in art 1.5.a, and are not covered by the provisions of the Athens Convention 2002.