Media Attention: Qingdao Maritime Court Supports High-Level Opening-Up, Establishing Itself as a Leading Venue for International Maritime Dispute Resolution Serving High-Level Opening-Up, Creating a Preferred Venue for International Maritime Dispute Resolution

　　Media Attention: Qingdao Maritime Court Supports High-Level Opening-Up, Establishing Itself as a Leading Venue for International Maritime Dispute Resolution Serving High-Level Opening-Up, Creating a Preferred Venue for International Maritime Dispute Resolution

　　QMG Qingdao Radio and Television, July 17 – Over the past 40 years, Qingdao Maritime Court has adhered to the principles of equal protection and service for high-level opening-up, continually improving its mechanisms for handling foreign-related cases, actively promoting the supply of maritime judicial standards, and striving to establish itself as the preferred venue for international maritime dispute resolution. These efforts have consistently enhanced the international credibility and influence of China’s maritime judiciary.

　　In 2019, after Qingdao Maritime Court judges completed the release procedure, the Marshall Islands-flagged 300,000-ton giant oil tanker NIRISHA was freed from detention, marking the start of a new voyage. This case, which involved 45 days of negotiations spanning 8,000 kilometers and six countries, was a successful example of cross-border mediation. It also highlighted Qingdao Maritime Court’s focus on creating an international, law-based, and business-friendly environment.

　　Zhang Bo, Chief Judge of the Fourth Maritime Tribunal of Qingdao Maritime Court:

　　“The NIRISHA was originally scheduled to unload its oil in Qingdao and Tianjin. After being seized, it would not be able to deliver its cargo on time, causing significant financial loss. We took the bold step of implementing ‘flexible seizure’ allowing the NIRISHA to complete its remaining voyage after seizure—with no precedent at the time. The ship was able to proceed to Tianjin for unloading, and the parties ultimately reached a settlement. After the release, the ship was renamed RESPECT, a tribute to Chinese rule of law.”

　　Over the past four decades, in the 5,921 foreign-related cases adjudicated by the Qingdao Maritime Court, this was not the only one. In 2020, a Chinese import-export company bought a shipment of soybeans from Brazil, to be carried by the TALIMENG vessel. However, upon arrival, the consignee found that the cargo had suffered heat damage and mildew. After the insurance company compensated the consignee with 7.25 million yuan, it filed a lawsuit in the Qingdao Maritime Court, seeking to hold the carrier responsible for the loss. Despite the defendant’s challenges, including objections to jurisdiction and an injunction from a British court, the Qingdao Maritime Court judge, equipped with solid international legal expertise, successfully resolved the dispute between the domestic and foreign parties, greatly enhancing the international credibility of China’s foreign-related judiciary.

　　Wang Ailing, Director of the Research Office of Qingdao Maritime Court:

　　“In response to the injunction, we could have resorted to China’s unique maritime injunction, but that might have further escalated the conflict. Instead, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the factors affecting the cargo damage and, after multiple rounds of detailed communication, ultimately gained the parties' trust and used a more flexible approach to resolve the dispute, achieving a win-win outcome.”

　　As China continues to deepen its opening-up, the soft power of maritime law has become increasingly important. In recent years, the Qingdao Maritime Court has continued to deeply analyze relevant factors and support foreign-related opening-up with “admiralty therapy”. It has issued Guidelines for Foreign-related Service, established China’s first Maritime Foreign Law Research Center, opened specialized channels for training legal talent in foreign-related law, created a “Learning-oriented Court” as a distinctive national project for cultural development within courts, and set up cooperative mechanisms with academic institutions. These efforts aim to continually improve the level of foreign-related judicial services.

　　Ouyang Mingcheng, Member of the Party Group of Qingdao Maritime Court and Vice President:

　　“Moving forward, we will further refine our mechanisms for foreign-related trials, actively promote the construction of a maritime rule-of-law alliance, continue to translate research findings into practice, and strengthen the training of legal professionals in foreign-related law. This will provide legal guidance and judicial protection for domestic enterprises to ‘go out’ and foreign enterprises to ‘come in’, ensuring high-level maritime trials and high-quality foreign-related judicial services in support of high-level opening-up.”