Xinhua Daily's front page today features an article titled “Striving for Maritime Excellence: Judicial Safeguards Riding the Waves,” highlighting the concrete actions and responsibilities demonstrated by Nanjing Maritime Court through a series of robust and effective measures in serving and supporting the construction of a maritime power province. The full text is reproduced below.

Nanjing Maritime Court Serves and Supports the Construction of a Maritime Power Province with Robust and Effective Measures

Striving for Maritime Excellence: Judicial Safeguards Riding the Waves

Recently, Nanjing Maritime Court issued the “Several Measures for More Powerful and Effective Service and Support for Building a Strong Maritime Province.” Deeply implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important requirements of “five greater emphases” for promoting high-quality development of the marine economy and earnestly carrying out the provincial Party committee's work arrangements, the court proposed 10 measures to better serve and support marine science and technology innovation, the development of advantageous marine industries, the construction of “Water Transport Jiangsu,” higher-level opening up, and marine ecological and environmental protection. These measures leave a solid imprint of maritime judicial safeguarding for building a strong maritime province.

This represents both a synthesis and elevation of past judicial practices and a forward-looking blueprint for future development support. In recent years, Nanjing Maritime Court has deeply integrated maritime adjudication into the implementation of the maritime power province strategy and the broader context of high-level opening up. Keeping pace with new demands for maritime power province development, it has continuously expanded its adjudication functions, refined its rules system, and enhanced its international influence, ensuring steady and far-reaching progress in maritime power province development through high-level maritime adjudication services.

Embracing Innovation to Elevate the Marine Economy

In the eastern waters of Huangshayang, Rudong County, rows of wind turbines stand tall against the sea, resembling a white forest along the coastline. This is Rudong Offshore Wind Farm, Asia's largest offshore wind power facility.

Wind turbine installation relies heavily on specialized vessels. Previously, two offshore engineering companies had agreed that Company B would procure a turbine installation vessel from overseas to exclusively serve Company A's installation projects at this wind farm. However, Company B's prolonged failure to deliver the vessel not only disrupted the project schedule but also caused significant losses to Company A. After accepting the case early this year, the presiding judge at Nanjing Maritime Court clarified the legal relationships, explicitly ruled that Company B had breached the contract, and ordered it to return the advance payment and compensate for double the deposit loss. The court also held the affiliated company and actual controller jointly and severally liable, fully safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of private offshore engineering enterprises participating in offshore wind power development and construction.

As a vital marine renewable energy industry, offshore wind power has accelerated its rise in Jiangsu in recent years, with related disputes becoming increasingly prominent. Nanjing Maritime Court has properly adjudicated 903 cases involving the offshore wind power industry chain and maritime disputes related to “fishing-solar hybrid” and “wind-solar-fishing hybrid” projects. In March this year, the court convened a specialized symposium to solicit expert opinions on challenging issues such as “the application of maritime liability limitations” and “adjustments to the scope of maritime use rights certificates,” advancing the standardized development of offshore wind power through precise judicial measures.

Offshore engineering equipment and marine shipbuilding represent Jiangsu's leading marine industries. However, the shipbuilding sector faces cyclical fluctuations due to international market conditions. In May this year, President Li Yuming of Nanjing Maritime Court led a delegation to visit the Jiangsu Shipbuilding Industry Association and Yangtze River Shipbuilding, proposing solutions to issues such as “frequent overseas litigation and arbitration, high costs, and lengthy cycles” faced by enterprises. To date, the court has concluded 2,716 disputes involving the entire shipbuilding and offshore equipment industry chain and presided over China's first lawsuit against foreign sanctions infringement.

Jiangsu is the only province in China with access to major rivers, lakes, and the sea, boasting a dense water network and unique water transport advantages. The court introduced measures to serve “Water Transport Jiangsu,” addressing needs such as port transformation and multimodal transport, concluding 2,571 related cases. In enforcing a lease contract dispute involving a thousand-ton-class seaport terminal, it collaborated with local courts to clear obstacles for a planned 5 billion yuan investment in a new energy offshore equipment project.

Pursuing Green Growth: Advancing Sustainable Marine Economy Development

Protecting the Yellow Sea wetlands requires managing Spartina alterniflora, an invasive species. However, herbicides sprayed during control efforts caused mass mortality of mud snails in adjacent tidal flats, sparking a dispute that led to litigation between aquaculture farmers and the responsible company.

How to balance wetland ecological conservation with the farmers' vital interests? To uncover the truth, the presiding judge conducted multiple on-site inspections and interviews at the tidal flats. The investigation ultimately confirmed that herbicide spraying had caused reduced mud snail yields. Rather than issuing a simple ruling, the court mediated a mutual understanding and settlement between the parties. This approach compensated the farmers for their losses while ensuring the wetland management project could continue, achieving a win-win outcome for both marine ecological restoration and fishery production.

Marine ecological conservation relies on robust judicial support. From establishing an expert advisory panel on marine environments to forming specialized adjudication teams and refining public interest litigation mechanisms for marine ecosystems, Nanjing Maritime Court continuously deepens rule and mechanism innovations, harnessing judicial power to safeguard the marine ecological foundation.

Jiangsu boasts abundant tidal flat resources. In recent years, Nanjing Maritime Court has properly adjudicated 542 cases involving maritime use rights disputes, including those concerning tidal flat aquaculture. It has issued judicial recommendations on the standardized transfer of maritime use rights to promote the development and protection of tidal flat resources. In one enforcement case related to “returning farmland to fishing,” the court successfully dismantled shrimp pond facilities on tidal flats where maritime use rights had expired, delivering over 270 mu of tidal flats for high-standard farmland construction.

This year marks the sixth year of collaborative efforts between Jiangsu's maritime judiciary and administrative law enforcement agencies. On China Maritime Day (July 11), participating units held in-depth discussions centered on “Legal Protection for Marine Resource Development and Environmental Conservation,” jointly advancing the green and high-quality development of Jiangsu's marine economy.

Sailing into the Deep Blue, Serving Higher-Level Opening-Up

“Resolving all disputes in just two months saved us significant time and costs associated with overseas arbitration. Kudos to your professionalism.” In May this year, a letter brimming with gratitude from a foreign party arrived at Nanjing Maritime Court. In a vessel detention case stemming from a contract dispute over the sale of a Panamanian-flagged offshore engineering vessel, the three parties held conflicting views on liability and ownership. The presiding judge actively pursued substantive dispute resolution, facilitating a comprehensive settlement within just two months.

This efficient resolution demonstrated how China's maritime judiciary is increasingly becoming a preferred venue for international maritime dispute resolution through its professional expertise and speed. Aligned with Jiangsu Province's strategy to build “one center, one base, and one hub,” Nanjing Maritime Court concentrates on adjudicating foreign-related cases, actively aligns with international rules and practices, legally supports and supervises maritime arbitration, and equally protects the legitimate rights and interests of both domestic and foreign parties. To date, the court has concluded 1,082 foreign-related and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan-related cases involving 82 countries and regions. Cases involving Belt and Road partner countries account for over 50% of these, with three cases featured in the renowned British publication Chinese Maritime and Commercial Law Reports.

With the rapid growth of the cross-border e-commerce industry, related disputes have increased significantly. Nanjing Maritime Court has strengthened the clarification of the burden of proof and standardized the rules for reviewing evidence from foreign jurisdictions. This approach not only safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of cross-border e-commerce enterprises but also promotes the high-quality development of new international logistics models. To date, the court has properly adjudicated 423 cases involving the China-Europe Railway Express and cross-border e-commerce.

Cultivating international talent forms the foundation of maritime justice. The court implements the “Maritime Law Elite” program to continuously enhance judges' capabilities in identifying and applying foreign laws. In one international multimodal transport dispute, a judge accurately applied Mexican law to deliver a judgment, which was selected as one of the Supreme People's Court's first batch of exemplary cases involving the application of foreign laws. Currently, one member of the youth translation team has been assigned to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and another has been selected for the reserve pool of overseas legal professionals.

The maritime “exam paper” is ever-evolving. As the marine economy expands into deeper waters and broader horizons, Nanjing Maritime Court will demonstrate greater resolve and pragmatic action to thoroughly implement ten key measures, providing more robust and effective support for building a maritime power province.