Guangzhou Maritime Court published its 2021 Top Ten Typical Cases on 5 March 2022. We are pleased to notice that a case handled by our maritime & admiralty team has been selected as one of these top ten cases, i.e. Application for Preservation of Maritime Claims filed by Lotus Ocean Transportation (HK) Limited against Angeliki Dynamis Investment Corporation.
The aforesaid selected case is a very typical case of preservation of maritime claims in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the handling of this matter, our service team encountered numerous practical challenges including epidemic prevention and control, shipowner’s abandonment of vessel and her foreign crew, ship’s safety exposure, etc. On 11 October 2021, an online auction sale of the vessel at issue, i.e. M/V “Angelic Power”, was carried out by Guangzhou Maritime Court on Taobao Platform for Judicial Sale and she was successfully sold at RMB64 million. This auction sale is the biggest sale of foreign registered ships by Guangzhou Maritime Court in terms of sale value in recent years.
As a matter of fact, the aforementioned selected case is only one of the spectrum of cases involving the vessel “Angelic Power”, and indeed one of the series of cases our maritime & admiralty team handled upon the instruction of our clients for their disputes with Angeliki Dynamis Investment Corporation and other parties concerned, including time charterparty disputes, voyage charterparty disputes, disputes over contract of carriage of goods by sea, crew service contract disputes, etc. involving substantial amounts. In addition to such practical challenges as epidemic prevention and control, typhoon prevention and foreign affairs as indicated above, due to the complexity in merits and large number of parties and contracts involved, these cases also pose huge legal challenges in the following areas:
1. They involve cross-border dispute resolutions (litigation and arbitration), including arbitration proceedings respectively in Hong Kong and London. Our service team worked with Hong Kong and English lawyers and assisted them for collecting evidence, reviewing evidence and preparing arbitration documents.
2. They involve parallel legal proceedings in and outside Mainland China. While providing assistance to overseas lawyers for the foreign arbitration proceedings, our service team also handled various legal proceedings in Mainland China, including ship arrest, ship sale, lawsuits, registry of creditor’s right, etc.
3. They involve ascertainment of several foreign laws and application of Chinese law and these foreign laws, including English, Greek and Philippine laws. Our service lawyers cooperated with foreign lawyers in this regard, drafted legal documents, provided legal advice and assisted Chinese court in the ascertainment and application of foreign laws.
The Maritime and Admiralty Team of Wang Jing & GH was set up and led by Mr. Wang Jing, director of the Maritime Law Committee of All China Lawyers Association and former director and founding partner of Wang Jing & Co. Law Firm. Other team members include partner Mr. Wilson Wang and a number of other legal experts and professionals. The Team comprises experienced legal professionals including partners, associates and senior consultants all with profound knowledge in the laws and judicial practice in China, UK and other jurisdictions. The members of the Team, who have creative mindsets and capabilities to handle multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional matters, have expertise in handling cross-border transactions, dispute resolution and other complex legal issues. The Team maintains close and long-term cooperation and contact with overseas shipping law firms, Queen’s counsels, insurance companies and agents, thus can provide comprehensive, high-quality and professional legal services to Chinese and foreign clients in cross border and multi-disciplinary complex maritime and admiralty matters.
Since its formation in early 2020, the Team was invited to contribute to the shipping chapter of The Legal 500 Country Comparative Legal Guide. In 2021 the Team received a law award in aviation and shipping sector in Asia Law Profiles 2021 law award thanks to its outstanding services and high market reputation. Mr. Wang Jing is recognized as a Distinguished Practioner in insurance & shipping by Asia Law Profiles twice respectively in 2021 and 2022. The Firm is awarded The Legal 500 Asia Pacific Leading Firm 2022: Shipping (PRC Firms). Mr. Wang Jing is recognized as a Leading Individual, and Mr. Wilson Wang as a Practice Head in shipping sector in the Legal 500 2022 Asia Pacific law award.
