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Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway (the ‘Regulation’), provides for a minimum set of rights of passengers travelling by sea and inland waterway.

More specifically, it establishes the right of passengers to assistance in cases of cancelled or delayed departures and lays down the rights in certain circumstances to compensation in cases of delay in arrival.

Furthermore, the Regulation also aims to provide disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility with same opportunities for maritime and inland waterway travel as the ones enjoyed by passengers in other transport sectors across the EU.

The Shipping Deputy Ministry is the Competent Authority and the National Enforcement Body (‘NEB’) in Cyprus designated for the handling of passenger complaints pursuant to Article 25(3) of the Regulation.

Relevant Legislation
Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 concerning the rights of passengers travelling by sea and inland waterway.
Summary of provisions concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway.

The Role of the Shipping Deputy Ministry as an Appeal Body
The Shipping Deputy Ministry, as the designated national body responsible for the enforcement of the Regulation concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway (Regulation (EU) No. 1177/2010), shall act as an Appeal Body for complaints that have not been resolved by the carrier or the terminal operator.

In view of the above, the Shipping Deputy Ministry shall accept only those complaints that have been first submitted to the carrier or terminal operator concerned and examine the alleged infringement following it up with the imposition of appropriate sanctions where necessary and the Shipping Deputy Ministry will not engage in dispute settlement but will limit its activities to the general enforcement of the Regulation.

Submission of Passengers Complaints
Passengers Complaints Form

The completed complaint form can be sent:
a) by post at the Shipping Deputy Ministry, Kyllinis, Mesa Geitonia, 4007, Limassol, Cyprus; or
b) at the following email address: passengerrights@dms.gov.cy.

Cyprus National Enforcement Body Reports
2015-2016
2017-2018
2019-2020
2021-2022

Compliance Monitoring Questionnaire
Available in .pdf or .docx format.

Related SDM Circulars
• Circular 13/2015 regarding the mechanism of imposition of administrative fines, in case of infringement of certain provisions of the Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010.
• Circular 4/2015 regarding the creation of a new portal on passenger rights by the European Commission at your Europe Portal.
• Circular 16/2014 regarding the implementation of the Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 and its application in Cyprus.

Useful links of European Commission on EU passenger rights
Ship passenger rights
'Your Europe' passenger rights website (Ship passenger rights when travelling in the EU)
National Enforcement Bodies (NEB) under Regulation (EU) 1177/2010 concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway

Cyprus Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Body who can handle 1177/2010 complaints
The Cyprus Consumer Center for ADR which has been approved and registered as an ADR Entity by the Consumer Protection Service of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry pursuant to national Law 85(I)/2017 transposing Directive 2013/11/EU, can handle 1177/2010 complaints.

It is clarified that, the Competent Authority designated for the handling of passenger complaints pursuant to Article 25(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 is the NEB, i.e. the Shipping Deputy Ministry.

Useful links on EU ADR Bodies
ADR bodies dealing with transport services, listed on the European Commission's website: Online Dispute Resolution | European Commission (europa.eu).


For further information as to the rights of passengers travelling by sea, please kindly call the following phone number of the Shipping Deputy Ministry: +357 25848100 or send an email to passengerrights@dms.gov.cy.