In the event of a collision of ships of less than 20 tons in gross tonnage, the fault and liability of the collision should still be determined in accordance with the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea, 1972
In the case of dispute over liability for collision damage of ships between Wang Qiuhong as the plaintiff and Dalian Haiyue Sea Fishing Co., Ltd. as the defendant and Cai Ming as the defendant,both the ship “Blue Sky Sea Fishing” and the ship “Liaochangyu 31239” are ships of less than 20 tons in gross tonnage. Therefore the provisions of the Maritime Code on ship collision do not apply. However, as the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea, 1972, which China has already joined, applies to all seagoing ships on the high seas and the waters connected to the high seas, the fault and liability of the two ships involved in the collision should be determined in accordance with the relevant provisions of the above Convention. The facts that ship “Blue Sky Sea Fishing” sailed in a foggy area with poor visibility, failed to proceed at a safe speed, failed to maintain a proper lookout and failed to sound the fog signal in accordance with the regulations of the above Convention were the primary causes for the collision. The facts that the crew of “Liaochangyu 31239” ship did not realize that the ship was moored in the location of prohibited anchorage or fishing and failed to sound the fog signal in accordance with the regulations of the above Convention were the secondary causes of the collision. The Court ruled that the responsibility for the collision was 80% for the ship “Blue Sky Sea Fishing” and 20% for the ship “Liaochangyu 31239”.