In recent years, the cross-border e-commerce industry in Hainan has experienced rapid growth, encompassing services such as e-commerce platforms, maritime cargo transport, and customs brokerage, with significant overlap with freight forwarding services. Consequently, related conflicts and disputes have also increased. Recently, the Haikou Maritime Court, through case consolidation and joint mediation, effectively resolved a maritime freight forwarding contract dispute involving cross-border e-commerce, facilitating the rapid restoration of business relationships between cross-border e-commerce companies, cargo owners, and bonded warehouse operators. This has pressed the ‘accelerate button’ on maritime judicial services to support the healthy development of the cross-border e-commerce industry.

 

Case overview

 

On 20 October 2021, a technology investment company in Hainan (the cargo owner) signed a Commission Agreement for Warehousing Services with a Hainan cross-border e-commerce company (the freight forwarder), whereby the freight forwarder was entrusted to import a batch of machinery (the cargo involved in this case) through carriage by sea from Germany and provide marine freight forwarding services, including, among others, the storage of cargo in bonded warehouse. On 1 January 2023, the freight forwarder entered into, under its own name, a ‘Digital Fulfillment Agreement for Commission Services’ with a supply chain management company in Yangpu, Hainan (the warehouse operator), entrusting the warehouse operator to provide customs clearance, terminal handling, warehousing and distribution services. Subsequently, the machinery was stored in a bonded warehouse located within the Yangpu cross-border e-commerce comprehensive warehouse provided by the warehouse operator. Later, due to the cargo owner’s failure to pay the forwarder’s service fees, the forwarder subsequently fell behind on its payments for warehousing and customs services to the warehouse operator. Consequently, the warehouse operator filed a lawsuit with the Haikou Maritime Court, requesting the court to order the forwarder to pay overdue fees, including warehousing, customs clearance, and tally fees, totaling approximately CNY 900,000. In a separate case, the forwarder also sued the cargo owner in the Haikou Maritime Court, requesting the court to order the cargo owner to pay outstanding agency fees and penalties totaling approximately CNY 1.2 million.

 

Comprehensive review and consolidated hearing

 

After accepting the case, the collegial panel of the Haikou Maritime Court determined that the two cases were actually related, i.e. both arising from the importation of the same batch of cargo through a cross-border e-commerce platform, specifically at the stages of freight forwarding and cargo warehousing. Handling these disputes separately would impose unnecessary litigation burdens on the parties involved.

 

To address this issue, the collegial panel adhered to the work philosophy of “empathically walking in litigants’ shoes before judging them”, to guide the cargo owner to join, as a third party, the case filed by the warehouse operator against the freight forwarder. This allowed the two cases to be consolidated for trial, sparing the cross-border e-commerce company from having to manage two lawsuits simultaneously, effectively conserving judicial resources and reducing litigation costs for the parties involved.

 

Identifying the root cause and resolving the case through joint mediation

 

The three parties involved had little disagreement over the amounts of the disputed fees in each case. The primary focal issue lies in whether the cargo in question should be picked up and transferred to a different warehouse. Based on the facts found, the collegial panel carefully considered the needs and interests of all parties concerned and fully utilized the role of mediation. Through multiple rounds of communication with each party, the collegial panel ultimately facilitated a settlement agreement among the parties.

 

According to the settlement agreement, the cargo in question stored in the bonded warehouse was designated as collateral. The cargo owner agreed to pay the outstanding amounts owed to both the freight forwarder and the warehouse operator within the specified time, with the forwarder bearing joint and several liability for the warehousing fees owed by the cargo owner. This arrangement enabled the three parties to reach an optimal balance of interests, allowing the cross-border e-commerce company to swiftly resolve the dispute while effectively protecting the legal rights and interests of all parties involved, which earned high praise from the parties.

 

Focusing on new business models and providing targeted services

 

In recent years, the Haikou Maritime Court has paid close attention to the emerging new business models and issues in the field of maritime international trade. It has consistently focused on the judicial needs of various commercial entities to proactively provide targeted legal services. By improving the convenience of maritime litigation and focusing on leveraging the advantages of the ‘Oriental Experience’, the court has continuously optimized the law-based business environment in the maritime commercial sector.

 

In the future, the Haikou Maritime Court will continue to optimize judicial measures and provide comprehensive protection for the smooth operation of the cross-border e-commerce logistics industry. It will offer higher-level maritime judicial services to Chinese enterprises expanding overseas and support the high-quality development of cross-border e-commerce in Hainan.