Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Setback: Irish Ferries

Operator, Irish Ferries has suffered a setback in its legal challenge to avoid paying compensation to thousands of passengers whose trips were cancelled on sailings between Ireland and France in the summer of 2018.

The ferry company contends that a decision by the National Transport Authority requiring it to pay compensation to many of the 20,000-plus passengers who had to change their travel plans is invalid, irrational, disproportionate and in breach of its rights under the Constitution and EU law.

However, a legal opinion issued by the Court of Justice of the EU on Thursday ruled that the EU regulations providing that compensation is payable to sea passengers affected by cancelled sailings applied to the Irish Ferries case.

It also found that Irish Ferries should pay any additional costs incurred by passengers who availed of re-routing options.

Although the legal opinion is not binding on the CJEU, its recommendation is followed in the vast majority of cases.

Further reading here on this development.

Published in Irish Ferries

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.