The foreign ship was unloading; its departure was imminent
Judges arrived at Dandong Port
Judges boarded the foreign ship
Judges obtained the foreign ship’s information through the ship agent
Judges boarded the bridge to serve the preservation documents to the captain
Judges negotiated with the foreign captain of the ship to deliver the preservation documents, then determined the method of evidence preservation
Judges made an inquiry record of the foreign captain
Judges inspected the logbook and other documents provided by the captain
Judges, with the assistance of the ship agent, classified the evidence through the night
Within 24 hours, Donggang Tribunal of Dalian Maritime Court successfully completed the preservation of thousands of pieces of evidence from the Maltese cargo ship Audrey.
At about 1: 00 pm, April 25, 2018, PACIFIC BULK CAPE COMPANY LIMITED, a company registered in Hong Kong, applied to our court for pre-litigation evidence preservation of all navigation documents and materials on board the Audrey, a Maltese cargo ship of Abbey 15 Ltd berthed at Dandong Port. After the Donggang Tribunal registered the case, all the judges went to work through the night.
In the process of evidence preservation, the collegial panel learned that the departure of the ship was imminent; the crew members were all of Filipino nationality and none of them had any landing document; no document or material on board was allowed to leave the ship; and no mass printing equipment was available on board. Faced with the difficulties above, the chief judge of Donggang Tribunal led two judges to work around the clock, boarding the ship three times within 24 hours. By taking photos and making supplementary printed copies, they overcame many difficulties, including language barriers and the absence of communication signal at sea , thus successfully completing the evidence preservation process.
In this foreign-related evidence preservation work, all the judges of the Donggang Tribunal demonstrated selfless work spirit and excellent work efficiency. They fostered a great image of China’s maritime justice to the international community and received admiration from the plaintiffs, the defendants, and all foreign seamen on board.
Donggang Tribunal is located near the Sino-North Korean border. For many years, it has been an unwavering adherent to Dalian Maritime Court’s noble judicial idea of “respecting the law and serving the public” . In handling various maritime cases, it has shown to the world, through the words and deeds of its judges, China’s excellent and professional maritime judicial image, especially in Northeast Asia. On many occasions, Donggang Tribunal has solved various judicial problems for the locality and benefited the development of local economy.
In the beginning of last year, the municipal leaders of the local government drove hundreds of kilometers to Dalian Maritime Court to send thank-you letters for Donggang Tribunal’s hard work in successfully resolving litigation disputes and complaints and requests. They also highly praised the Donggang Tribunal for its great role in local economic development.
By Wang Na