On 21 May 2026, HiHonor lawyers paid a courtesy visit to the Supervision Department, Ship Department and VTS/Command Center of Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) Rizhao. We held extensive and in-depth discussions with MSA department heads and key officers. Special gratitude goes to the leadership of MSA for attaching great importance to this visit and sparing valuable time for our communication.

On the same day, we also had the great pleasure visiting new office address of Rizhao Tribunal, Qingdao Maritime Court (QMC). During this visit, we were greatly impressed by the cooperation between maritime authorities and the maritime court. Cooperation between MSA and QMC Rizhao Tribunal goes far beyond judicial assistance related to ship arrest & release and evidence coordination; it goes also to joint dispute mediation.

We in particular took note of a crew personal injury dispute that occurred in July 2025, which was fully resolved within merely five days, owing to solid cooperation between MSA Rizhao and Qingdao Maritime Court (QMC) Rizhao tribunal.

Joint Mediation Resolves Crew Personal Injury Dispute within 5 Days

At 20:00 on July 23, 2025, a crew member accidentally fell from the deck and lost his life aboard the vessel “xxx” during cargo operations at Lanshan port, Rizhao.  The family of the deceased and the ship owner were once locked in a fiery conflict, posing potential disruption to port operations and vessel sailing schedule.

QMC Rizhao Tribunal and MSA Rizhao activated the joint response mechanism without delay. Mediation work was carried out at the Rizhao One-Stop Center for Maritime Traffic Accident Dispute Resolution. By Mediators simultaneously explaining the law to the bereaved family members and guiding the shipowner to take responsibility voluntarily, the shipowner and the bereaved family reached a full and final compensation agreement of RMB 1.85 million yuan within just 5 days, bringing the dispute to a full and final resolution. The efficient coordination model at the Rizhao One-Stop Center for Maritime Traffic Accident Dispute Resolution fully demonstrates the efficiency and warmth of maritime governance in China.

For details, please refer to the official link below:

http://www.sdcourt.gov.cn/nwglpt/_2343835/_2532828/44500462/index.html