Chinese Court Settles $26.5 Million Collision Dispute Involving Antigua and Barbuda-Flagged Vessel

BEIJING — A Chinese maritime court has mediated a $26.5 million dispute stemming from a collision involving an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged vessel near the Strait of Hormuz.

China’s Supreme People’s Court said Monday that the case involved the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged Adalynn and the Liberia-flagged Front Eagle. Both vessels are owned and operated by foreign companies.

The ships collided near the Strait of Hormuz in June 2025. The owner of the Adalynn later asked the Guangzhou Maritime Court to arrest the Front Eagle while it was undergoing repairs in Shenzhen, China.

The parties agreed to have the Chinese court hear the dispute and selected Chinese law to govern the case, which involved claims totaling 180 million yuan, or about $26.5 million.

The court held four pretrial meetings between October 2025 and July 2026, followed by a public hearing on July 14. Maritime technical investigators were brought in because no official investigation had been conducted and no formal conclusions about the collision were available.

Presiding Judge Wu Guining said the court reconstructed the vessels’ movements leading up to the collision, helping to determine the parties’ respective liabilities.

The parties subsequently reached a mediated settlement, and the court oversaw the distribution of the liability fund in late July.

Bilov Viacheslav, a representative of the Adalynn’s owner, said the company chose the Chinese court because it trusted the country’s judicial system. He also praised the court’s efficiency and the professionalism of the maritime experts involved.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]