Boat travel with a disability
Båtresa med funktionsnedsättning - Engelska
There are special rules intended to make boat travel easier for you if you have a disability.
Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
Your rights in brief
If you have a disability, the rules intended to protect you mean that a boat company:
may not deny you travel on the grounds of your disability.
may not charge a higher price for the boat travel even if you need extra help.
must try to give you the assistance you need for the journey.
must give information you need and can understand.
The main rule is that you may not be refused to buy a ticket and travel by boat on the grounds of your disability. There are exceptions, however. The EU regulation that governs your rights only applies to travel with large boats.
For small boats with no more than three crew members or 12 passengers, there are no rules on assistance. However, there are rules on the boats’ design.
These rules apply within the whole of the EU. So, the same rules apply when you travel between Gotland and the mainland or, for example, between Germany and Denmark.
Refused travel due to safety requirements
The boat company can refuse you to travel if they cannot meet the safety requirements intended to make the journey safe for you with a disability. This may, for example, be that the boat or the port are designed in a way that makes it unsafe for you to go aboard.
If you are refused travel on a boat journey, the company must:
No later than five days from when they received your inquiry, notify you in writing why you cannot take the journey.
Try to offer you another journey.
If you have booked a boat journey but are refused to go aboard, even though you had informed about your needs, you are entitled to a refund or rebooking.
The boat company can also require that you have an escort who can give you the assistance you need for the journey to be safe for you.
Assistance on the boat journey
The boat company and the party responsible for the port terminal are obliged to give you the help you need without charging extra for it. You have the right to get help with:
Checking in luggage.
Going aboard and going ashore.
Making your way to your place on-board.
Understanding important travel information.
Going to the restroom.
To get assistance, you must inform the boat company, or the party responsible for the port, at least 48 hours before your journey. You must also be at the meeting place at the time that the boat company set or that you have agreed on. However, this time may not be more than one hour before boarding. If you have not been given a time, you should be there at least one hour before the boat’s departure time. If you have not reported your needs for assistance on time, the boat company and the port terminal must still offer the help they can give at the moment.
Right to adapted information
You should have the possibility of understanding the rules that apply to boat transports of passengers with disabilities. You should receive the information in a form that is adapted to your needs and in the languages in which the other passengers receive information.
Delayed and cancelled departures
If a boat journey is cancelled or delayed, you are entitled to help from the boat company like the other passengers. This may concern meals or lodging, for example. The boat company must take special consideration of you with a disability.
Damaged or lost assistive devices
If the boat company damages or has lost an assistive device that you need for your disability, you are entitled to compensation equivalent to the value or repair costs. The boat company must arrange temporary assistive devices for you as quickly as possible.
Report to the Swedish Consumer Agency if the rules are not followed
If you think that a travel company is breaking the rules, you can report it to the Swedish Consumer Agency.
A report to the Swedish Consumer Agency does not mean that your individual case will be investigated. However, it is important information for the Swedish Consumer Agency when they review how the companies are following the rules.
The content is presented in collaboration with ECC Sweden, which is part of the ECC network and the Swedish Consumer Agency's information service. ECC Sweden is part-financed by the European Union.
The content of this website represents the views of the author only and it is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
