The Ninth International Conference on Maritime Law: ICML 2018 was successfully held from October 29 to 31 in Shanghai, as hosted by China Maritime Law Association and organized by Shanghai Maritime University. The conferences attracted more than 350 attendees from domestic and foreign maritime law academia, maritime judicial circles, shipping industries and relevant governmental institutions, including the Supreme People's Court, China Law Society, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Shanghai High People's Court, China Maritime Arbitration Commission, maritime courts, Comité Maritime International, British Consulate-General in Shanghai, London Maritime Arbitrators Association and colleges, universities, law firms, maritime advisory agencies, shipping companies, insurance companies, etc.

Chen Xuebing, partner of Grandall Shanghai, and Zhang Sai, lawyer of Grandall Shanghai, attended the conference and published a paper titled “Brief Discussion on the Sharing of Shipbuilding Costs after Termination of Shipbuilding Contract on the Basis of a Case”. Later in the afternoon session of October 30, Mr. Chen also gave a speech in respect of that paper.

In the paper, Mr. Chen discussed and analysed how to share shipbuilding costs in the case of an early termination of the shipbuilding contract by introducing a specific case. In Mr. Chen’s opinion, a ship building contract, in terms of legal nature, is a work contract rather than a sales & purchase contract, and the ship owner shall pay ship price in instalments according to the shipbuilding progress and be liable for the shipbuilding costs and expenses. In the particular case referred in Chen’s paper, though the shipbuilding contract was terminated before its expiration without a breach by either party, the ship owner should be obliged to pay the shipbuilding cost and be liable for the accrued material costs and efforts of the shipyard. Ship owner should not refuse to pay the relevant sum by using non-delivery of the ship or its innocence as an excuse.

With a theme of “Development, Reform and Innovation of the Ideas, Systems and Regimes of Maritime Law in the New Era”, the conference had offered 10 topics for discussion (including the reformulation of modern maritime law and revision of the Chinese Maritime Code, ship financing security and cross-border insolvency, prospects of the Rotterdam Rules at its 10th anniversary, protection of cruise ship passengers' rights and interest, fair treatment of seafarers, marine environmental protection, polar shipping and maritime safety, free trade ports and integrated transport, innovation of maritime dispute resolution mechanisms, etc.). As a large academic event hosted by China Maritime Law Association, the conference was significant to the further opening of the Chinese market and the theoretical and practical studies of maritime laws.