[Basic details of the case] The defendant Allan Mendoza Tablate (hereinafter referred to as “Allan”) was the second mate of the Maltese ship “Catalina.” At 17:30, May 5, 2016, the non-load ship “Catalina” sailed from Lianyungang, China to Indonesia. During the period from 00:00 to 04:00, May 7 of the same calendar year, the ship was driven by the defendant Allen, who was on duty then. At around 03:34 of the day, the ship “Catalina” passed by waters around 72 nautical miles east by north of the Nanjiushan Island of Xiangshan County, Zhejiang Province (approximate location: 29°33.1’ degrees north latitude and 123°35.4’ degrees east longitude). While the ship sailed in a fishing area on the foggy waters with restricted visibility, the defendant Allen violated the Maritime Traffic Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant regulations, failing to keep a lookout as required, failing to make full estimation of the then current situation and collision danger, failing to sail at a safe speed, failing to take any effective avoidance action in time, and failing to take effective measures for navigating in fog. As a result, the ship “Catalina” collided with the ship “Lurongyu 58398” driven by Dong, which was in twin trawling operation, causing a major traffic accident where the ship “Lurongyu 58398” was turned over and sank, fourteen crew members including Zhang died, and five crew members including Wang went missing. As identified, the ship “Lurongyu 58398” suffered a property loss of RMB 5,078,800. The Ningbo Maritime Bureau of the People’s Republic of China found that the ship “Catalina” should assume the main liabilities for the accident. After the accident happened, the defendant Allen surrendered himself to the Second Detachment, Marine Police, Public Security Frontier Defense Corps of Zhejiang Province, and truly stated his criminal fact. Borsari Shipping Company Ltd, owner of the ship “Catalina,” had already make compensation to the immediate families of those who died and went missing in the accident, totaling RMB 22.45 million. The immediate families of the victims Jiang, Wu, et al. had issued letters of understanding, to show their understanding of the crime committed by the defendant Allen.

[Main idea of adjudication] Through trial, the Ningbo Maritime Court found that: When sailing the ship, the defendant Allen violated the maritime transportation management regulations and collided with a fishing ship. As a result, the fishing ship turned over and sank, fourteen crew members died and five crew members went missing. The defendant should assume the main liabilities for the accident. His act had already constituted traffic offense crime in a vicious manner. Thus, the defendant should be punished according to law. The criminal fact accused by the public prosecution organ was clear, the evidence was solid and sufficient, and the defendant was found guilty. Allen surrendered himself after the accident happened, and admitted his guilt and showed his penitence in good faith; the owner of the ship “Catalina” actively made compensation to the immediate families of the victims for their economic losses; part of the immediate families of the victims showed their understanding of the crime committed by Allen, etc. Thus, the defendant could be given a lesser punishment according to law. The relevant defense opinions brought forward by the defendant and the defender were accepted. To sum up, as prescribed by Article 133, Article 6 and Paragraph 1, Article 67 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China and Article 4 of the Interpretation by the Supreme People’s Court of a Number of Issues on the Specific Laws Applied to the Trial of Traffic Offense Crimes, the following judgment was made: The defendant Allan Mendoza Tablate committed the traffic offense crime and was sentenced three years and six months in prison. After the judgment was pronounced, the defendant Allen did not file an appeal.

[Typical significance] This case is China’s first pilot case for a maritime court to try maritime crime. As prescribed by Article 27 of the Criminal Procedure Law of China, “The jurisdiction over cases in special people’s courts shall be stipulated separately.” As prescribed by Article 112 of the Regulations of the Supreme People’s Court on the Scope of Cases to Be Accepted by Maritime Courts enacted on March 1, 2016, “Where the jurisdiction of a maritime court over other cases is stipulated by laws and judicial interpretations or designated by a superior people’s court, such stipulation or designation shall govern.” As the law does not grant maritime courts the jurisdiction over criminal cases, the Supreme People’s Court designated the Ningbo Maritime Court as a pilot court for the trial of maritime criminal cases, to provide a practical sample for legislation, which can yet be regarded as an active and reliable practice.

The pilot jurisdiction of a maritime court over maritime criminal cases is an important content and specific action to implement and deepen the requirements for the reform of the judicial system of the people’s courts. The successful trial and conclusion of this case has opened a new chapter of the “three in one” of civil, administrative, and criminal maritime trials in China. It has made positive contribution to exploring the reform of the maritime jurisdiction system that focuses on maritime, civil and commercial cases and reasonably covers cases in other fields. Trial practice shows that the jurisdiction of maritime courts over maritime criminal cases is not only feasible, but also can give full play to the professional advantages of maritime courts. It is more conducive to the coordinated handling of maritime criminal, maritime administrative, maritime, civil and commercial cases, and is also more conductive to the unified implementation of maritime-related laws and regulations. In 2019, the Ningbo Maritime Court successfully concluded three more maritime criminal cases.