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Exclusive: China's maritime court settles Strait of Hormuz vessel collision dispute as foreign shipowners turn to Chinese law_我的网站

一 |     我省持续推进信用代证、信用修复、信用融资改革以信用赋能政务服务提质增效登录政务服务网，在“高效办成一件事”专区“信用代证一件事”平台下载打印，不到10分钟，衡水西胡牧业有限公司的信用报告出炉。“流程简单顺畅，不限时不收费，特别方便。    

    Liberia-flagged vessel Front Eagle Photo: Courtesy of China's Supreme People's Court Guangzhou Maritime Court recently successfully mediated a 180 million yuan ($25 million) dispute arising from a collision between two oil tankers in waters near the Strait of Hormuz, with both parties agreeing to apply Chinese law and submit their dispute to the Chinese court, the Global Times learned from the court on Sunday.
In 2025, two crude oil tankers collided at the eastern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, 24 nautical miles off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, media reported.
Owned by oil tanker operator Frontline, the Liberia-flagged vessel Front Eagle collided with the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged vessel Adalynn on the morning of June 17, 2025.
The Adalynn was damaged in the fire. While the Front Eagle was undergoing repairs in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, Global Shipping Holding Ltd., which owns the Adalynn, applied to Guangzhou Maritime Court for its arrest. Frontline provided a cash security of 203 million yuan to release the arrest and applied to establish a limitation fund for maritime claims.
The court approved the application and allowed Frontline to establish the limitation fund, setting the amount of the fund at 168 million yuan.
Guangzhou Maritime Court held four pretrial conferences on October 11, 2025, January 12, May 6 and July 13, 2026 to complete preparations for evidence examination, technical investigations and reported the relevant pretrial arrangements to the provincial high court, the Global Times learned from the court. 
The court held a public hearing for the case on July 14, 2026.
No government agency had conducted an investigation into the collision, and no official findings were issued after the accident. Taking into account the unique burden-of-proof challenges in maritime collision disputes, Guangzhou Maritime Court took measures to preserve key evidence when handling the vessel arrest, including navigation logs, AIS data, voyage data recorder (VDR) records and CCTV footage, the court told the Global Times in a statement on Sunday.
Under a process that involves exchanging evidence inventories, sealing materials simultaneously and jointly reviewing them after evidence submissions, the court helped ensure the authenticity of critical records and laid the groundwork for determining the facts of the case.
As the two sides and their respective maritime experts reached sharply different conclusions over liability, the court introduced a maritime technical investigator mechanism, with the consent of both parties, allowing technical experts to participate throughout the proceedings. Drawing on the preserved evidence, investigators reconstructed the collision, assessed the vessels' encounter situation and clarified the parties' respective responsibilities.
Following the hearing, the court facilitated mediation, and the two parties reached a settlement agreement on July 27, 2026. On July 31, the court organized the distribution of the maritime liability limitation fund among creditors involved in the foreign vessel collision dispute and related charter-party disputes. 
Representatives of the Adalynn traveled from overseas to the court to present a letter of appreciation and a commemorative banner in recognition of the court's efforts, according to the court statement. 
After the Guangzhou Maritime Court accepted the case, both parties agreed to apply Chinese law to establish a maritime liability limitation fund and resolve their substantive dispute, breaking away from the long-standing reliance of international shipping disputes on European and US courts and legal systems.
Choice of justice 
Bilov Viacheslav, a representative of Global Shipping Holding Ltd., told the Global Times that the main reason they chose a Chinese court to mediate the case is that "we want absolutely fair, unbiased approach to this issue. Because nowadays in this world, there are some countries which believe that they are authorized to give instruction to all others, which definitely is having influence on the decisions of the judge on the approach to the case."
Viacheslav gave the Chinese court's handling of the case a five-star rating, saying he had expected the dispute to take at least three years to resolve, but the Chinese court settled it within just one year. He also praised the judges and lawyers for their commitment to advancing the case throughout the proceedings.
"The judges and lawyers worked to advance the case with the same level of commitment as I did, even though the case directly concerned my own interests. This left a deep impression on me about litigation in China," Viacheslav said.
The case involved two foreign parties and a collision that occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, with no direct connection to China or Guangzhou Maritime Court initially. The fact that the parties chose to seek vessel arrest in China and agreed to apply Chinese law demonstrates the credibility and appeal of China's maritime judicial system, Wu Guining, vice president of the Guangzhou Maritime Court, who served as the presiding judge of the case, told the Global Times. 
The court also introduced a maritime technical investigator mechanism in the case, an innovation aimed at addressing complex technical issues arising from vessel collision accidents, Wu said, noting that through technical investigations, the court was able to establish the facts of the case more efficiently, highlighting the integration of professional maritime investigation capabilities with China's specialized maritime adjudication system.
The case demonstrates China's ability to handle major, complex and cross-border maritime disputes with professional expertise, Wu said.
The handling of the collision between the two vessels is just one example of how Chinese courts have been dealing with a growing number of foreign-related maritime cases in recent years.
The Global Times learned from China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) in October last year that over the past 40 years, Chinese courts have handled a total of 88,000 foreign-related maritime cases involving parties from 146 countries and regions.
At a lecture held by the SPC on Friday, Shen Hongyu, director of the Fourth Civil Division of the SPC, told the Global Times that in recent years, Chinese courts have become more influential in participating in and promoting global ocean governance reform. Maritime justice serves as an important instrument for practicing the vision of a maritime community with a shared future and for advancing the reform of the global ocean governance system. 
。”该公司副总经理张亮说。日前，因办理业务，西胡牧业需要提交涵盖多领域的无违法违规证明。

二 | 以前，张亮得分别跑到公安、消防、市场监管等多个部门办理各种证明材料。多头跑、多次跑，让他很苦恼。一份信用报告，为经营主体减负。这份便捷的背后，是不断完善社会信用体系、优化营商环境的实践探索。信用是市场经济的基石，更是企业发展的关键。把建设诚实守信、遵约践诺的信用环境作为优化营商环境、增强核心竞争力的重要举措，以信用赋能政务服务提质、经营主体减负、市场秩序规范，为经济社会高质量发展注入强劲信用动能。聚焦企业开具证明“难、繁、久”等问题，创新推行“信用代证”一件事改革，建设上线“信用代证”一件事办事系统，以一份专项信用报告替代经营主体赴43个部门办理46个领域的有无违法违规记录证明，实现“线上申请、即时出具”。截至目前，全省累计出具专项信用报告17328份，替代各类证明379902份，让企业“少跑腿、好办事”。让数据多跑路，这份专项信用报告在部分省市实现跨区域互认。今年，京津冀晋正式上线“信用代证”查询系统，四地经营主体可在属地网站下载使用专项信用报告，实现异地打印报告“零跑动”。截至目前，累计出具446份互认版报告代替6866份证明，为企业跨省办事、群众异地生活提供更大便利。

三 | 失信会影响个人生活、企业生产。近日，遵化市某商贸公司在当地行政审批局的指导下，依法合规及时完成了信用修复，提升了自身信用水平，成功办理了相关业务，避免因信用修复不及时可能带来的负面影响。打破数据壁垒，推动信用修复从可办向好办、易办转变。目前，全省各行业主管部门576个信用修复账号已全部上线运行，具备业务受理与审核能力，也成为全国首批开通行业主管部门信用修复账号的14个省份之一。截至目前，累计为33843家企业办理55873个信用修复事项。如今，好信用不再是无形的声誉，而是成为企业可以随时“提现”的宝贵资产。

四 | “旺季马上到了，正愁资金周转不开，没想到凭着平时的微信、支付宝收款记录和银行卡经营流水，不用抵押物品，就收到了200万元贷款！”日前，献县弘顺斋清真肉类食品有限公司负责人白震看着手机上的到账短信，难掩激动地说。相关金融机构结合信用信息，创新开发“数据贷”“小微易贷”等贷款产品，实现从贷款申请、额度测算、授信审批到支用放款的线上化操作，提升企业融资便利性，助力缓解中小微企业融资难、融资贵问题。持续以“好信用”优化营商“好环境”，将进一步拓展“信用代证”覆盖领域，强化信用数据赋能产业发展，创新“信用+”应用场景，推动信用建设与营商环境优化、产业转型升级、社会治理现代化深度融合，助力经济社会高质量发展。（日报记者 贾 楠 解楚楚）。

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Published on:04:37:17