Marina: Be mindful of passenger rights during delayed, canceled voyage

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has reminded vessel passengers to be mindful of their rights if their trip gets suspended for any reason now that the holiday vacation is over.

The influx of passengers in ports is expected from 1 to 5 January as schools resume classes and people return to work on 6 January.

Marina said in an advisory that passenger rights are stipulated under Marina Circular (MC) 2018-07, including the right to information, refund or revalidation of vessel tickets, amenities and compensation.

The circular considers a trip canceled if it has been called off more than 24 hours ahead of the scheduled departure or to an indefinite date and time.

This also covers trips where passengers have been denied boarding due to overbooking or errors in booking.

Meanwhile, a voyage is delayed if the ship departs late from the point of origin and arrives late in the port of destination by 24 hours or less.

Passengers of an uncompleted voyage or any trip that commenced but failed to reach its port of destination have the right to information, comparable transport to the intended destination or a place nearest thereto, amenities and compensation.

However, Marina said these rights apply to passengers only if the canceled, delayed or uncompleted voyage is caused by the shipping operator. The rights don’t apply if the unfortunate event is caused by the passenger, according to MC 2018-07.

Also, the rights to amenities and compensation apply only if the cancellation, delay or non-completion of the voyage is attributable to the operator.

“These do not apply if it is of passenger’s fault or there were extraordinary circumstances that occurred such as port traffic/congestion or receipt of orders from competent authorities. It will also not apply if the cause is a fortuitous event like a natural calamity or any incident involving government intervention,” the Marina said in the advisory.

Furthermore, the right to refund or revalidation of tickets applies for both canceled and delayed voyages regardless of the cause, including extraordinary circumstances or fortuitous events. The only exception is if it is of passenger’s fault.

Finally, the right to comparable transport only applies to cases of uncompleted voyages, even if it is caused by a fortuitous event, according to Marina.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), another agency under the Department of Transportation, reported that as of Wednesday, there were 36,094 outbound passengers and 29,325 inbound passengers monitored in all public ports nationwide.

Moreover, there were 2,967 deployed frontline personnel in 16 PCG Districts, 255 vessels inspected and 699 motor bancas checked.

The PCG has placed its districts, stations, and sub-stations on heightened alert from 20 December 2024 to 3 January 2025 to manage the influx of port passengers.