Pavlakis – Moschos & Associates have a long established practice in representing seamen, whole crews and bereaved families in their rights from personal injury or death accidents on board ships or related to their sea employment.
We are one of the leading Piraeus firms in this field.
The seamens’ and their families’ rights are pursued and defended by our experienced lawyers before Greek Courts or in foreign jurisdictions that prove to be more convenient and beneficial for the claimants.
The handling of such claims requires specialized knowledge and experience. Legislation is very specific, the cases are usually tried by specialized Maritime Courts, the rules and regulations applicable are to a great extent those of international maritime bodies and organizations, whereas the defendant ship-owners, shipping managers, insurers, P & I Clubs, and classification societies are mostly multi-national.
The Case of Foreign Seafarers Serving Onboard Foreign Flagged Ships connected with Greece
The prosecution of personal injury claims of foreign seamen serving onboard foreign flagged ships is of particular interest to our firm.
Following the application by Greek Courts of the Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001 on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels Convention), as amended by the Recast Regulation 1215/2012, Greek Courts may assume jurisdiction over claims of foreign seamen who have suffered an accident on board a non-Greek flagged and/or not Greek owned ship, even in case where the seaman served under an employment contract containing a clause for exclusive jurisdiction of a non-Greek Court, provided that a link is established between the shipowners and / or ship and Greece.
It is thus possible to successfully pursue in Greek Courts a claim for injury of a Ukrainian seaman, who suffered an accident while serving on board a Panama flagged vessel, although his employment contract provides for exclusive jurisdiction of Ukrainian Courts or for arbitration, as long as it can be established that the ship / shipowners / managers had their actual place of business in Greece.
The application and interpretation by Greek Maritime Courts of the Council Regulation (EC) 593/2008 (Rome I) on the Applicable Law in Contractual Obligations, in most cases allows the application of the Greek law on Workmen’s Compensation to foreign seamen’s employment contracts, even if another law has been agreed in their employment contracts.
Ship Arrest
In the context of successfully pursuing seamen’s claims and in order to secure the claim or to enforce a final judgment, an effective measure worth trying in many cases will be the arrest of the liable ship or of an associated ship, in Greece or in a suitable forum all over the world in collaboration with foreign local lawyers.