This case concerned an indirect collision which involved the Shunfu, owned by Jiangsu Shuntian Shipping Ltd (the plaintiff) and the Xinzhou 6, owned by Zhejiang Ningbo Liping Shipping Ltd (the defendant).

The Xinzhou 6 was leaving port. Due to a high volume of outbound traffic, the Xinzhou 6 was directed by the marine authority to sail on the inbound navigation channel. The Shunfu was entering port. The masters of these two vessels agreed on collision avoidance measures via VHF radio. The two vessels sailed pass each other safely. However, the measures taken by the two vessels resulted in the Shunfu's collision with the dock, which was located next to the inbound navigation channel. The collision damage was RMB 1,844,248.61.

The plaintiff argued that, although there was no direct collision between these two vessels, the collision between the plaintiff's vessel and the dock was a consequence of the defendant's violation of relevant navigation regulations. Therefore, according to art 170 of the Maritime Code of the People's Republic of China (Maritime Code), the defendant should assume 70% of the liability. The defendant disagreed.

Held: Liability apportioned between the Shunfu and the Xinzhou 6 at 70% and 30% respectively.

One of the fundamental issues in this case was whether the collision rules in the Maritime Code can be applied to indirect collision cases as well as to direct collisions.

China is a contracting State to the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law with respect to Collisions between Vessels 1910 (Collision Convention 1910), and several articles in the Maritime Code align with relevant rules in the Collision Convention 1910. Articles 165 and 170 of the Maritime Code were drafted on the basis of arts 1 and 13 of the Collision Convention 1910 respectively.

According to art 1 of the Collision Convention 1910, the Convention applies to collisions occurring between sea-going vessels or between sea-going vessels and vessels of inland navigation. Article 13 of the Collision Convention 1910 extends the application of the Convention to 'the making good of damages which a vessel has caused to another vessel ... even if no collision had actually taken place'.

Therefore, taking both arts 1 and 13 of the Collision Convention 1910 into consideration, the Convention can be applied to indirect collision cases. Thus, the relevant collision regulations in Chinese maritime law can also be applied to indirect collision cases.

By applying the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Some Issues regarding the Trial of Cases of Ship Collision Disputes, the plaintiff should assume 70% of the collision liability and the defendant should assume responsibility for the remaining 30%.