Chinese court settles collision dispute between foreign vessels in Strait of Hormuz

A Chinese maritime court has successfully mediated a dispute that had arisen from a collision between two foreign vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) said on Monday.

The case, involving claims reaching 180 million yuan (about $26.5 million), was handled by the Guangzhou Maritime Court (GMC) in south China's Guangdong Province under the guidance of the SPC. It involved the Antigua-and-Barbuda-flagged "Adalynn" and the Liberia-flagged "Front Eagle," both owned and operated by foreign enterprises, according to an SPC statement.

The two ships collided in June 2025, in waters near the Strait of Hormuz. While "Front Eagle" was undergoing repairs in Guangdong's Shenzhen, the owner of "Adalynn" applied to the GMC for an order to arrest the vessel.

Both foreign parties agreed to have the GMC hear the case and selected Chinese law as the governing law for resolving the substantive issues in dispute.

The GMC organized four pretrial meetings between October 2025 and July 2026 and held a public hearing on July 14, 2026, the statement said, adding that it also introduced maritime technical investigators to help ascertain facts regarding the collision, as no official authority had conducted an investigation into the accident and no official conclusions were available.

Through the fact-finding process, the court reconstructed the course of the collision, which helped clearly determine the parties' respective liabilities, according to Wu Guining, the presiding judge of the case.

"In this case, we introduced an innovative mechanism of maritime technical investigators. This helps us overcome the technical difficulties of accidental ship collision cases," Wu told CGTN Frontline. "Through technical investigation, we can quickly establish the facts."

Wu said the case "fully demonstrates China's professional capacity in trying major, complex and difficult cross-border cases."

Through the court's mediation, the relevant parties reached a settlement, and the court organized the liability fund distribution in late July.

Bilov Viacheslav, representative of the shipowner of the "Adalynn," said the company decided to submit the dispute to a Chinese court because of their trust in the impartiality and fairness of the country's legal and judicial systems, a choice that was ultimately proven right.

"The main reason why we decided to sue with Chinese law and jurisdiction is because we wanted an absolutely fair, unprejudiced and unbiased approach," Viacheslav told CGTN Frontline.

He also said that he was impressed by the efficiency of the Chinese court and the professionalism of Chinese maritime experts.

"It would be five out of five," he said of the court's "excellent performance."

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: File photo of ships in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khasab, Musandam Governorate, Oman, June 2025. /VCG)