On 17 April, Shenzhen Tribunal of Guangzhou Maritime Court arrested, as requested by Zhejiang Pangxin Electric Power and Energy Co., Ltd. in an application for ship arrest, M/V “Gallant John” which is of Cypriot nationality and has a gross tonnage of 36,493MT. The handling judge explained the applicable Chinese laws to the Master in fluent English.

        On 25 April 2014, Mr. Zhong Jianping, president of Guangzhou Maritime Court, led a team of more than 60 judicial officers to CSSC Guangzhou Longxue Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for visiting M/V “Xiang Rui Kou”, a semi-submersible ship designed for special cargo carriage. During the visit, the officers watched a video showing loading and discharging operations of the semi-submersible ship, and listened to explanations by experts about the semi-submersible ship and its trading processes. They lastly boarded M/V “Xiang Rui Kou” to have a look at the internal structure of her bridge.

On April 4, Guangzhou Maritime Court released the Report on Maritime Trials 2013. It analyzes the general information and sorts of cases heard by Guangzhou Maritime Court since 2013, the trend of maritime disputes and market risks, and also puts forward relevant judicial proposals.

      A total of more than 40 people, who are judges from Guangzhou Maritime Court, experts and scholars in the field of maritime law and journalists, attended to the press conference.

        At the end of February 2014, the case of dispute over damages for pollution filed by Shanwei MSA against the owners and insurer of M/V Kenos Athena closed by mediation after six mediation meeting at the request of the both parities.

        The Korean vessel M/V Kenos Athena loaded with approximately 7,000 tons of sulfuric acid and 140 tons of bunker sank in the Shanwei waters of Guangdong Province in March，2013. Subsequently Shanwei MSA brought action against the owners and insurer of M/V Kenos Athena, requesting the payment of over RMB 140,000,000, including clean-up and pollution control costs, wreck marking costs, emergency response and salvage expenses.

        On 27 January 2014, Shenzhen Tribunal of Guangzhou Maritime Court received a letter of appreciation from DSV Ocean Transport A/S and its associate company Shanghai DSV Air & Sea Co., Ltd. As written in the letter, the two companies were deeply impressed by our efficiency and impartial attitude towards domestic and foreign litigants. They also stated that “the successful mediation of the dispute has enabled DSV A/S to continue to exit and operate, and freed our associate company Shanghai DSV Air & Sea Co., Ltd. from the troubles of litigation so that it can continue to expand business in China. This case is very important to us, and the resolution gives us and our affiliates the confidence to continue business in China.”

        Basic facts of the case: the claimant Newland Electronic (Hong Kong) commissioned the defendants, DSV Ocean Transport A/S and Shanghai DSV Air & Sea Co., Ltd., to transport three containers of LCD TV sets from Yantian, Shenzhen, China to Vigo Port, Spain. The defendants delivered the goods at the port of destination without the presentation of the bill of lading. Subsequently, the claimant brought an action to Guangzhou Maritime Court against the defendants for loss of goods in the sum of RMB4,390,000. Through two days of mediation, the parties reached a settlement at court and the dispute was fully solved on 20 November 2013 after the defendants agreed to compensate RMB2,800,000 to the claimant.

    By invitation of School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, Guangzhou Maritime Court sent 20 judges to Hong Kong to organize special training in nautical knowledge from 16 to 21 December 2013.

    During the training, senior maritime lawyers, port experts, company law experts, and maritime law professors from Hong Kong shared knowledge in maritime arbitration, civil procedure, lightering at transshipment ports, company registration in Hong Kong, as well as remuneration, welfare, and work-related injury handling of expatriate crew. Besides the courses, the trainees also visited Hong Kong International Terminals (HIT) and Pearl River Warehouse Terminal for fieldwork.

    On 29 November 2013, Guangzhou International Maritime Law Seminar 2013 was successfully held by the Ocean Shipping Regulation Committee of China Maritime Law Association, the Guangdong Provincial Lawyers Association, Yang & Lin Co., Law Firm and other organizations. More than 500 people from the industry were in attendance including, people’s courts, maritime safety administrations, shipping lines, insurers, mutual assurance associations, universities, environmental protection departments, fishery administrations, salvage bureaus, shipyards, port authorities, waterway administrations, maritime law firms both at home and abroad, freight forwarding agents and adjusters attended the seminar, with 30 distinguished foreign guests included.

    Participants in the seminar held heated discussions, examining difficult and cutting-edge issues relating to maritime theory and practice. Such topics included were the legality and practice in examining and hearing cases of disputes over freight forwarding by sea, marine insurance and maritime adjudication, introduction to marine investigation carried out by maritime authorities, questions related to the incidents arising during the transportation of cargoes which may liquefy, issues of evidences and law application in claims against damages of marine pollution and law application in cases of disputes over contract for domestic waterway cargo transportation.

      Recently, this Court received a letter of appreciation from Professor Helen Sampson who is also the director of the Seafarers International Research Centre, expressing the appreciation of our support and assistance to their field research focusing on the legal system and practice pertaining to the compensation for work-related injuries and casualties to Chinese seafarers.

    On 23^rd October 2013, the 19^th National Maritime Court Law Enforcement Seminar was held in Guangzhou. Presidents and vice-presidents in charge of law enforcement from 10 maritime courts nationwide, as well as authors of relevant papers (over 50), attended the seminar. Wang Yanjun, vice-president of Civil Division IV of the Supreme People’s Court, Huang Xiwu, judge of Civil Division IV of the Supreme People’s Court, Xu Peihua, president of the law enforcement department of the Guangdong Higher People’s Court, and Wang Jianping, vice-president of Civil Division IV of the Guangdong Higher People’s Court, were invited to the seminar. The seminar was held by Guangzhou Maritime Court.

    During the seminar, Meeting Minutes regarding Mutual Assistance in Handling Matters Entrusted by Maritime Courts Nationwide was discussed and concluded. The seminar also included thorough discussion on matters such as problems and solutions on vessel detentions, auctions and debt allocations during the law enforcement process, and the maritime law enforcement system following the amendment of the Civil Procedure Law.