Maritime preservation cases include cases where the maritime claimant, in order to protect the realization of their rights, applies for the seizure of the ship (including restrictions on ship disposal), the cargo on board, ship materials and spare parts, and ship fuel before litigation, as well as cases where the maritime claimant applies for the freezing and sealing of property before litigation. Such cases should be filed with the maritime court of the location where the preserved property is located. Local people’s courts cannot accept cases of seizure of ships (including restrictions on ship disposal), cargo on board, ship materials and spare parts, and ship fuel, nor should they freeze and seal other property before filing maritime claims.
The reasons for applying for pre litigation detention of a ship must comply with the 22 maritime claims stipulated in Article 21 of the Maritime Procedure Law.
The procedure and requirements for pre litigation application: a written application (request items, reasons, preserved vessel, and required amount of guarantee), providing relevant evidence and counter guarantee.
A maritime injunction case refers to a compulsory measure taken by a maritime court, based on the application of a maritime claimant, to order the respondent to act or refrain from acting in order to protect their legitimate rights and interests from infringement. When a fishing boat or equipment is unreasonably seized by others.
The application for a maritime injunction before litigation shall be submitted to the maritime court in the place where the maritime dispute arises.
To make a maritime injunction, three conditions should be met: specific maritime claims, the need to correct the illegal or breach of contract of the respondent, and urgent circumstances.
The requester shall submit a written application, relevant evidence, and guarantee.
Maritime evidence preservation cases refer to compulsory measures taken by maritime courts to extract, preserve, or seal evidence related to maritime claims based on the application of the maritime claimant.
Before filing a lawsuit, an application for maritime evidence preservation shall be submitted to the maritime court in the place where the preserved evidence is located. The requester shall submit a written application, relevant evidence, and guarantee.
To adopt maritime evidence preservation, four conditions should be met: the requester is a party to the maritime claim, the preserved evidence has a evidential effect on the maritime claim, the requested person is related to the preserved evidence, and the situation is urgent.
The application for the establishment of a maritime compensation liability limitation fund is a special system in maritime litigation. Chapter 11 of the Maritime Law stipulates that shipowners can enjoy liability limitations in accordance with the law for maritime claims stipulated by law. Therefore, if the shipowner, lessee, operator, salvor, and insurer apply for liability limitation in accordance with the law after a maritime accident occurs, they can apply to the maritime court to establish a maritime compensation liability limitation fund before or during the litigation. Any claims raised in a lawsuit should be filed no later than the first instance judgment. If an application for the establishment of a fund is made before litigation, it should be submitted to the maritime court of the place where the accident occurred, the place where the contract was performed, or the place where the ship was detained.
The significance of applying for the establishment of a fund: limiting the amount of compensation; After the establishment of the fund, no person who makes a maritime claim to the applicant for the same maritime accident shall make a request for seizure of any of the applicant’s property.
Ship priority notice case: Ship priority is also a special legal system stipulated by the Maritime Law. It refers to the maritime claimant’s right of priority compensation to the ship owner, bareboat charterer, and ship operator in accordance with Article 20 of the Maritime Law. The maritime priority must be exercised through the detention of the ship. The secured creditor’s rights have priority over liens and mortgages for repayment.
The maritime priority is attached to the ship and shall not be extinguished by the transfer of ownership of the ship. It has a one-year statute of limitations and shall be counted from the date of the priority. It needs to be registered and becomes effective, but is extinguished due to four reasons: failure to exercise beyond the time limit, forced auction of the ship by the court, loss of the ship, and failure to exercise upon expiration of the court’s announcement. Therefore, maritime priority has the characteristic of secrecy, which poses a potential threat to the transferee of the ship.
When a ship is transferred, the transferee may apply to the maritime court of the place where the ship is delivered or the transferee’s domicile for a notice of maritime priority, urging the maritime priority holder to claim their rights in a timely manner and eliminate the maritime priority attached to the ship.
When applying, submit the application form, ship transfer contract, ship related certificates, and other documents. After approval by the maritime court, a notice shall be issued to urge the priority holder to claim the maritime priority during the notice period. Those who claim their rights during the notice period should register with the maritime court; Those who do not assert their rights shall be deemed to have waived the maritime priority. The maritime court shall make an exclusion judgment based on the applicant’s application and make a public announcement.
