Beijing, Oct 10 (Xinhua) — Chinese maritime courts have accepted a total of 88,000 foreign-related maritime cases involving 146 countries and regions over the past 40-plus years, according to information obtained by a China News Service reporter from the Supreme People’s Court of China on October 10.
The fifth lecture of the “Supreme People’s Court Judges Forum” for the year 2025 was held in Beijing on October 10. Shen Hongyu, the head of the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court, introduced the important functions of maritime adjudication in serving the building of a strong maritime country.
Shen Hongyu stated that since the establishment of the first batch of maritime courts in 1984, they have cumulatively accepted 88,000 foreign-related maritime cases. An increasing number of foreign parties are actively choosing to file lawsuits in Chinese maritime courts even when the disputes involved have no actual connection with China.
According to statistics, since 2013, people’s courts have cumulatively tried over 300,000 cases involving disputes such as carriage of goods by sea, marine insurance, ship collisions, and shipbuilding and repair, as well as 27,000 inland waterway shipping dispute cases. They have lawfully tried over 5,600 cases involving disputes like port operations and wharf construction, and over 13,000 cases involving disputes related to marine development and utilization, offshore wind power projects, and blue ocean ranching.
Shen Hongyu indicated that courts across the country have effectively regulated the order of the shipping market, promoted the development of the shipbuilding industry, and provided strong judicial guarantees for the high-quality co-construction of the “Belt and Road” and for maintaining the stability of international trade industrial and supply chains.
Reporters learned from the meeting that China currently has over 2.03 million registered seafarers, including 970,000 ocean-going seafarers.
“Protecting and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of fishermen and seafarers is an important manifestation of maritime adjudication fulfilling the judicial purpose of serving the people,” Shen Hongyu said. The Supreme People’s Court has issued judicial interpretations on disputes involving seafarers, providing clear guidance for seafarers to protect their rights according to law. Since 2013, people’s courts have cumulatively tried over 42,000 maritime cases related to people’s livelihood, such as seafarer service contract disputes and personal injury compensation disputes, recovering losses totaling 14 billion yuan. (End)
