—— BOA BARGES AS vs. Nanjing Yichun Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Dispute over International Shipbuilding Contract

Key Word： Foreign-related shipbuilding contract; Change of dispute resolution; Pandemic impact; Deferred notarization/authentication; Online mediation

Case Summary:

On April 18, 2007, Norwegian shipowner BOA OFFSHORE AS, ordered ships from Nanjing Yichun Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and signed three Semi-Submersible Heavy-duty Deck Barge Contracts with a total price of nearly US$50 million. The contracts agreed that disputes shall be arbitrated in London and governed by English law. On May 17, 2010, Norwegian shipowner BOA BARGES AS, as the new purchaser, assumed the rights and obligations of the original three contracts. With the occurrence of the dispute over the contract performance, both parties decided to terminate the Contract on December 8, 2015, but failed to reach an agreement on a series of issues after the termination of the contract. By the beginning of 2020, the dispute cannot be solved by negotiation due to its escalation. Thus, both parties shall apply to the London Court of International Arbitration for arbitration in accordance with the relevant contract to solve the dispute. The outbreak of COVID-19 in February 2020 had a great impact on international arbitration. Especially with the increasingly severe situation of global epidemic, many European countries adopt entry restrictions and other prevention and control measures. Based on various factors, both parties signed the Supplementary Agreement on May 16, which agreed to submit the dispute to Nanjing Maritime Court for adjudication and apply Chinese laws. On June 11, the plaintiff BOA BARGES AS entrusted lawyers with a lawsuit to Nanjing Maritime Court, requesting the defendant Nanjing Yichun Co., Ltd. to return the advance payment and the accrued interest.

Judgment:

At the acceptance of this case, it was found through examination that the power of attorney of the plaintiff's attorney shall be notarized by the Norwegian notary office and authenticated by the embassy of the People's Republic of China in Norway. However, due to the influence of the pandemic situation, the plaintiff failed to submit the authenticated notarial documents to the court. In view of the actual impact of the pandemic on notarization and authentication and the complete specifications of other relevant filing materials of the case, and the plaintiff's attorney promised to complete the authenticated notarial documents before the trial, Nanjing Maritime Court decided to file the case first, allowing the attorney to delay submitting and authorization procedures. In the process of trial, in order to reduce the risks brought about by the flow and gathering of people during the pandemic, the court, on the basis of carefully examining the evidence materials involved in the case, facilitated the parties to reach a mediation agreement by handling the case through the Internet, and concluded the case in 27 days.

Significance:

This case is an international ship construction contract dispute, the foreign party took the initiative to alter the dispute resolution method from arbitration in London to filing a lawsuit to Nanjing Maritime Court and applying Chinese law, which is based on not only the trust in China's efforts to build the International Maritime judicial center and optimize the judicial environment, but also the  recognition of the Nanjing Maritime Court's service to ensure the construction of “the Belt and Road Initiative” and actively build a preferred place for maritime litigation. Facing the situation where the plaintiff was unable to submit the notarization documents due to the pandemic’s impact, the Nanjing Maritime Court, in line with the “Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Proper Trial of Civil Cases Involving COVID-19,” allowed foreign parties to extend the submission of notarization documents, effectively expediting the resolution of the dispute. In this case, the people's court effectively employed online dispute resolution methods against the background of the pandemic. Through organizing multiple rounds of online negotiations, the case was  finally resolved through mediation within 27 days after being filed, successfully settling a five-year-long international shipbuilding contract dispute，effectively helping enterprise overcome difficulties，fully demonstrating the role of the judicial system in promoting development, maintaining stability, and safeguarding people's livelihoods,  demonstrating the superiority of the Chinese socialist judicial system to the international community.