At 15:00 of January 14, Guangzhou Maritime Court held an online auction for M/V “Lanhai Chuangxin” in Southern United Assets & Equity Exchange. After 42 rounds of bids, the ship was auctioned at RMB 20.2 million, 4.7 million higher than the starting price, a premium rate of 30.32%.

     Under the new circumstance of internet development, with a view to handling judicial auction in a lawful and transparent manner and ensuring fairness and accessibility for the people, Guangzhou Maritime Court has held online auction for disposal of ships and onboard cargoes since 2014. Online auction removes geographical limitations and makes information disclosure of auction subject more transparent. This attracts more bidders and maximizes the value of action subject. Technically, online auction efficiently walls up the chances of “bid rigging, bid collusion or black case work” which are common in physical auction.