On July 10, on the eve of China Maritime Day, the Nanjing Maritime Court joined hands with the Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration, the Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Natural Resources, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Jiangsu Coast Guard Bureau, as well as the People’s Procuratorates of Nanjing, Nantong, Lianyungang and Yancheng to jointly host a press conference with the theme “Law-Based Protection of the Marine Ecological Environment”.

Li Yalin, Executive Vice President of Nanjing Maritime Court, briefed the press on the work regarding the rule of law for the marine ecological environment in Jiangsu in recent years. At present, the Court, together with maritime administrative authorities and procuratorial authorities, has established a collaborative mechanism featuring integrated land-sea coordination, inter-departmental synergy, cross-regional linkage, and social participation.

I. Combating Illegal Acts That Damage the Marine Ecological Environment in Accordance with the Law

(1) Comprehensive treatment of ship-source pollution. Ship-source pollution is characterized by strong concealment, severe destructiveness, and high mobility. Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration has urged shipping companies to fulfill their pollution prevention responsibilities through law enforcement penalties, on-site rectification, and warning education. People’s Procuratorates of Nanjing and other cities have supported administrative authorities in holding consultations on ecological and environmental damage compensation. Nanjing Maritime Court has supported direct claims for the recovery of pollution cleanup costs. Through the synergy of law enforcement, procuratorial supervision, and judicial adjudication, the three parties have achieved systematic governance from source to end.

(2) Strict enforcement against illegal fishing. Jiangsu Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has carried out the operation, with joint patrols covering the province's sea areas. The Municipal People's Procuratorates of the three coastal cities and the agriculture and rural affairs authorities at the corresponding levels have conducted pre-litigation consultations, urging those engaged in illegal fishing to voluntarily assume responsibility for ecological restoration.

(3) Resolute crackdown on illegal sea use. Jiangsu Coast Guard Bureau has investigated and penalized violations including unauthorized construction of marine projects and illegal occupation of sea waters, and ordered non-compliant enterprises to implement ecological restoration through stock enhancement. Yancheng Municipal People’s Procuratorate has standardized the order of marine development and utilization through administrative public interest litigation.

II. Advancing Institutional Innovation to Improve the Efficiency of Marine Ecological Environment Governance

(1) Jiangsu has set a model in blue carbon trading. Jiangsu Provincial Department of Natural Resources, together with Maritime Court and procuratorial authorities, has established a collaborative mechanism of “judicial protection and ecological restoration”, facilitating the largest single judicial transaction of coastal salt marsh blue carbon in China. Yancheng Municipal People’s Procuratorate and the ecological environment authorities have set up a wetland carbon sink restoration base, guiding the parties concerned to purchase and retire 734.1 tons of blue carbon credits.

(2) Efficient handling of minor pollution cases. Nanjing Municipal People’s Procuratorate has applied non-prosecution for minor offenses and has guided the responsible parties to assume compensation liabilities through alternative restoration methods such as stock enhancement. When handling a pollution case involving a foreign vessel, the Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration guided the overseas liable entity to purchase and retire equivalent carbon emission reduction quotas, with the consultation and agreement signing finalized within merely 43 days.

(3) Promoting enforcement coordination between the Maritime Court and local courts. Nanjing Maritime Court has integrated enforcement resources of local courts and territorial authorities, resolving the difficulties in enforcing the delivery of tidal flats, and facilitating the transformation of traditional tidal flat aquaculture into large-scale, intensive high-standard farmland.

III. Strengthening Multi-Sector Coordination to Foster a Collaborative Governance Framework

(1) Improving the mechanism for coordination between law enforcement and judiciary. Nanjing Maritime Court and Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration have jointly built a waterborne "one-stop" dispute settlement mechanism, which has been affirmed by the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of Transport and promoted for nationwide replication. 

(2) Expanding the scope of coordination. With the support of the People's Procuratorate of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing Maritime Court has established a working linkage mechanism with Nantong Municipal People’s Procuratorate, Lianyungang Municipal People’s Procuratorate, and Yancheng Municipal People’s Procuratorate for marine environmental public interest litigation. For example, in the case of illegal fishing by Wang, Lianyungang Municipal People’s Procuratorate facilitated a compensation agreement and applied to Nanjing Maritime Court for judicial validation.

(3) Strengthening cross-regional coordination. Nanjing Maritime Court has promoted the integration of litigation services and enforcement work among maritime courts in the Yangtze River Delta region. Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration has cooperated with maritime authorities in Shanghai and Jiangsu to carry out joint law enforcement and emergency drills, establishing a cross-provincial collaborative framework for the protection of the Yangtze River.

During the press conference, Nanjing Maritime Court and the people’s procuratorates of four cities jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on the Case-Handling Mechanism for Public Interest Litigation Involving Marine Natural Resources and Ecological Environment, so as to build a standardized, high-efficiency working system for marine ecological public interest litigation. Cheng Xin, First-Class Senior Maritime Supervisor of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration, released ten typical cases. The participants also held discussions on issues concerning the interface between judicial and administrative enforcement in compensation for marine ecological environment damage, the interface mechanism for public interest litigation, and relevant matters after the implementation of the Environmental Code of the People’s Republic of China.