The judge records the ship information of Brave sailor with a site enforcement recorder at the wharf. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

After the captain of Brave sailor refuses to sign on the service receipt, the judge records the service. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

The judge and agents of Brave sailor go through the "contactless" detention procedures at the wharf. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

The ship Brave sailor. [Photo/court.gov.cn]

The Ningbo Maritime Court in East China's Zhejiang province successfully detained a foreign ship on Aug 8 via non-contact means.

The detention was conducted around noontime in over 40-degree Celsius heat, and the judge had to perform his duty wearing a protective suit and staying off-board due to COVID-19 prevention requirements. With cooperation from the ship's agents, the judge announced the detention order at the gangway and finished the "contactless" detention procedure of the ship, Brave sailor.

With a net weight of 59,147 tons and a total tonnage of 89,991 tons, Brave sailor was from Malta and owned by a Greek trading company. It was carrying over 170,000 tons of Guinean bauxite, half of which it planned to drop off at a Ningbo port, with the rest to be transported to Jiangyin in Jiangsu province.

The applicant of the detention was a shipping company from Singapore. On the evening of July 29, the company's Panamanian ship Lucky joy was hit by Brave sailor during its anchoring at a refueling anchorage in Singapore, despite the efforts of the Lucky joy to avoid collision, which included sending out radio alerts to Brave sailor that were ignored.

The collision caused severe damage to the body of the ship with an estimated loss of about $3.6 million. The applicant believed that Brave sailor should be liable for compensation for losses caused by the collision. It was found out that Brave sailor would enter China on the afternoon of Aug 8 and stop at a port in Ningbo. Therefore, the applicant urgently applied to the Ningbo Maritime Court for pre-litigation detention of Brave sailor.

The court took immediate action upon receiving the application, coordinated with related departments and successfully carried out the detention.

Shortly afterwards, Brave sailor's owner offered to provide a guarantee, and the court consequently lifted the detention. The compensation dispute over the collision awaits further hearing.