Chapter I General Principles

Article 1 This Law is enacted with a view to safeguarding the rights to litigation of the parties to maritime cases and ensuring that the people's courts shall ascertain the facts, establish the liabilities, properly apply the laws and promptly hear and determine maritime cases.

Article 2 The Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and this Law shall be applicable to maritime actions brought in the People's Republic of China. Where the provisions of this Law are applicable, they shall prevail.

Article 3 Where any provisions concerning foreign-related maritime actions contained in international conventions entered into or acceded to by the People's Republic of China are different from those contained in the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and in this Law, the provisions of such international conventions shall apply, except those on which the People's Republic of China has announced reservation.

Article 4 The maritime courts shall entertain actions brought by the parties in respect of maritime tort, disputes over maritime contracts and other maritime disputes as provided for by law.

Article 5 In hearing and determining maritime cases, the maritime courts, the higher people's courts of the places where such maritime courts are located and the Supreme People's Court shall apply this Law.

Chapter II Jurisdiction

Article 6 The relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China shall apply to territorial jurisdiction of maritime actions.

The territorial jurisdiction of the maritime actions listed hereunder shall be determined as follows:

(1) apart from jurisdiction exercised in accordance with the provisions of Articles 29 to 31 in the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, an action brought for maritime tort may also be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the ship's port of registry is located;

(2) apart from jurisdiction exercised in accordance with the provisions of Article 28 in the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, an action arising from a dispute over a contract for carriage by sea may also be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the port of transshipment is located;

(3) an action arising from a charter-party dispute of a seagoing ship shall be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the port of delivery, the port of re-delivery, the ship's port of registry and the domicile of the defendant is located;

(4) an action arising from a dispute over a protection and indemnity contract shall be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the subject-matter of insurance is located, where the accident occurred or where the domicile of the defendant is located;

(5) an action arising from a dispute over the service contract of the crew of a sea-going ship shall be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the domicile of the plaintiff is located, where the contract is signed, where the port of embarkation or disembarkation of the ship's crew is located, or where the domicile of the defendant is located;

(6) an action arising from a dispute over maritime security shall be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where collateral is located or where the domicile of the defendant is located; an action arising from a dispute over ship mortgage may also be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the ship's port of registry is located;

(7) an action arising from a dispute over the ownership, possession, employment and maritime lien of a sea-going ship shall be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the ship is located, where the ship's port of registry is located, or where the domicile of the defendant is located.

Article 7 The following maritime actions shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction of maritime courts specified in this Article respectively:

(1) an action arising from a dispute over coastal port operation shall be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the port is located;

(2) an action brought against pollution damage to sea areas caused by discharge, spill or dumping of oil or other hazardous substances from ships, by production or operation at sea or by ship demolition or repair shall be under the jurisdiction of the maritime courts of the place where the pollution occurred, the place that is suffering from the harmful consequences or the place where pollution prevention measures were taken; and

(3) an action arising from a dispute over an offshore exploration and exploitation contract performed within the territory of the People's Republic of China or in the sea area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China shall be under the jurisdiction of the maritime court of the place where the contract is being performed .

Article 8 Where all the parties to a maritime dispute are aliens, stateless persons, foreign enterprises or organizations and have agreed in writing to be subject to the jurisdiction of a maritime court of the People's Republic of China, notwithstanding that the place that is actually related to the dispute is not within the territory of the People's Republic of China, the said maritime court of the People's Republic of China shall have jurisdiction of the dispute.

Article 9 Any party who wishes to apply for a positive decision that certain property at sea is ownerless shall file an application with the maritime court of the place where the said property is located; anyone who wishes to apply for a declaration that a person is dead in an accident at sea shall file an application with the maritime court of the place where the competent authority dealing with the accident is located or with the maritime court that entertains the relevant maritime case.

Article 10 Any controversy that arises between a maritime court and a local people's court over jurisdiction shall be resolved by the two courts through consultation; if consultation fails, the matter shall be submitted to their common superior people's court for designation of jurisdiction.

Article 11 Any party who wishes to apply for the enforcement of a maritime arbitration award, the recognition and enforcement of a judgment or order of a foreign court or a foreign maritime arbitration award shall file an application with the maritime court of the place where the property against which enforcement is sought or the domicile of the person against whom enforcement is sought is located. In the absence of a maritime court at the said place, the application shall be filed with the intermediate people's court of the place where the property against which enforcement is sought or the domicile of the person against whom enforcement is sought is located.

Chapter III Preservation of Maritime Claims

Section I General Provisions

Article 12 Preservation of maritime claims means the compulsory measures taken by a maritime court on the application of a maritime claimant against the property of the person against whom a claim is made, for the purpose of ensuring fulfillment of the claim of the maritime claimant.

Article 13 Any party who wishes to apply for preservation of a maritime claim before instituting an action shall file an application with the maritime court of the place where the property subject to preservation is located.

Article 14 Preservation of a maritime claim shall not be bound by the jurisdiction agreement or arbitration agreement reached between the parties to an action in respect of the maritime claim.

Article 15 A maritime claimant who wishes to apply for preservation of a maritime claim shall file an application in writing with a maritime court. In the application the particulars of the maritime claim, reasons for the application, subject-matter to be preserved and the amount of security required shall be specified with relevant evidence attached.

Article 16 The maritime court, having entertained an application for preservation of a maritime claim, may enjoin the maritime claimant to provide security. If the maritime claimant fails to do so, the court shall reject the application.

Article 17 The maritime court, having accepted an application, shall make an order within 48 hours. Where the order involves adoption of measures for preservation of the maritime claim, it shall be executed forthwith; where the conditions for the preservation of the maritime claim are not met, it shall make an order to reject the application.

Any party who is dissatisfied with such an order may, within 5 days after receipt thereof, apply for review not more than once. The maritime court shall give the result of the review within 5 days after receipt of the application therefor. Execution of the order shall not be suspended during the period of review.

Where preservation of a maritime claim is objected by an interested person, the maritime court, having examined the objection and considering the reasons justified, shall discharge preservation against his property.

Article 18 Where a person against whom a claim is made provides security or a party applies for discharge of preservation of the maritime claim on justified grounds, the maritime court shall discharge the preservation promptly.

If within the time limit prescribed by this Law a maritime claimant fails to bring an action or apply for arbitration in accordance with an arbitration agreement, the maritime court shall discharge the preservation or return the security promptly.

Article 19 Where legal proceedings or arbitral proceedings are not commenced in respect of a maritime dispute after execution of the preservation of a maritime claim, any party may bring an action in respect of the maritime claim in the maritime court that adopts measures for preservation of the maritime claim or another maritime court that has jurisdiction, unless a jurisdiction agreement or arbitration agreement has been reached between the parties.

Article 20 A maritime claimant who has wrongly applied for preservation of a maritime claim shall indemnify the person against whom the claim is made or the interested person for the losses thus incurred.

Section II Arrest and Auction of Ships

Article 21 With respect to the following maritime claims, an application may be made for the arrest of a ship:

(1) loss of or damage to property caused by ship operation;

(2) loss of life or personal injury in direct connection with ship operation;

(3) salvage at sea;

(4) damage or threat of damage caused by ship to environment, coast or relevant interested persons; measures adopted to prevent, diminish or eliminate such damage; compensation paid for such damage; expenses for reasonable measures actually adopted or to be adopted to restore environment; losses caused by such damage to or likely to a third party; and damage, expenses or losses of a similar nature as those specified in this subparagraph;

(5) expenses related to re-floating, removal, reclamation or destroying of a sunken ship, wreck, aground ship, abandoned ship or to making them harmless, including the expenses related to re-floating, removal, reclamation or destroying of the things which have or no longer remained on board the ship or to making them harmless and expenses related to maintaining of an abandoned ship and her crew;

(6) agreement in respect of employment or charting of a ship;

(7) agreement in respect of carriage of goods or passengers;

(8) cargo (including luggage) carried by a ship or loss or damage relating thereto;

(9) general average;

(10) towage;

(11) pilotage;

(12) providing of supplies or rendering of services in respect of ship operation, management, maintenance or repair;

(13) construction, re-construction, repair, refurbishment or equipment of a ship;

(14) dues or expenses for ports, canals, docks, harbours or other waterways;

(15) crew's wages and other moneys, including repatriation expenses and social insurance premium payable for the crew;

(16) expenses paid for a ship or a ship-owner;

(17) insurance premium for a ship (including protection and indemnity calls) payable by or paid for a ship-owner or bareboat charterer;

(18) commission, brokage or agency fee related to ships payable by or paid for a ship-owner or bareboat charterer;

(19) a dispute over ownership or possession of a ship;

(20) a dispute between joint owners of a ship over the employment or earnings of the ship;

(21) ship mortgage or rights of a similar nature; and

(22) a dispute arising out of a ship sale contract.