On July 18, 2017, a civil public interest litigation case on disputes over liability for pollution to marine environment was tried in the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone Circuit Court of Guangzhou Maritime Court. This is not only the first case tried by Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone Circuit Court since its establishment, but also the first civil public interest litigation case on disputes over liability for pollution to marine environment of China instituted by People's Procuratorate. Nearly 20 deputies to the People's Congress and members to the National People's Political Consultative Conference of Guangzhou or Nansha District attended the trial.

On 3:50 a.m. of Aug. 30, 2016, when the law enforcement officers of State Oceanic Administration patrolled around the Hongqili waterway near Pearl River estuary, they found that Li Weilai was driving the ‘Guigang Guilong 8090’ vessel and dumping 100 cubes construction clay into the sea. On April 20, 2017, People's Procuratorate of Guangzhou instituted proceedings against Li Weilai to Guangzhou Maritime Court and requested the court to order him to assume the compensation for the loss caused by his dumping behavior of RMB 251,678. Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone Circuit Court of Guangzhou Maritime Court accepted the case.

On 3 p.m. of July 18, 2017, Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone Circuit Court of Guangzhou Maritime Court tried the case. In the court, People's Procuratorate of Guangzhou, as the public interest litigator, provided an environmental damage assessment report made by the South China Institute of Environmental Sciences to prove that the consequential economic loss of the incident was RMB 251,678 in total. However, the defendant Li Weilai argued that, evidence from the public interest litigator is not enough to prove the damage caused by dumping construction clay. The court will schedule a date to announce the judgment.

Ye Liudong, President of Guangzhou Maritime Court and presiding judge of the case, pointed out that the trial of this environmental civil public interest litigation case will not only further enrich the trial experience of such cases of Guangzhou Maritime Court, but also provide practical basis for improvement of compensation rules for marine environmental damage of China, so as to provide better judicial safeguard and service for marine ecological civilization construction and building China into a beautiful country.