China has enacted the most significant reform of its maritime law framework in more than 30 years. On 28 October 2025, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the revised <a href="https://english.court.gov.cn/2016-04/14/c_761422_2.htm" target="_blank" class="news-text_link">Maritime Code of the People’s Republic of China</a> (the “<span class="news-text_medium">Revised Code</span>”). The Revised Code will come into force on 1 May 2026.
This is not merely a technical update, but a substantial modernisation of China’s maritime law framework. The Revised Code updates China’s maritime law for a market shaped by digital trade, complex logistics chains, ship finance, environmental risk and cross-border disputes. For shipowners, charterers, cargo interests, traders, banks, insurers and P&I Clubs, the message is clear: China-related shipping contracts should be reviewed before the Revised Code takes effect.
The Revised Code removes the previous divide between domestic and international carriage of goods by sea. For more than 30 years, China’s maritime framework treated domestic and international carriage differently. The Revised Code brings those regimes closer together and creates a more coherent legal framework for carriage by sea.
This does not mean every rule is identical. Certain distinctions remain, including in relation to due diligence, delay in delivery and exemptions from liability. However, the direction of travel is plain, towards greater consistency, clearer risk allocation and a more modern statutory structure.
The Revised Code expands the carrier’s duty of care. Carrier responsibility is now no longer focused only on the sea leg. It expressly extends across the carriage chain, including receiving, loading, handling, stowing, carrying, keeping, caring for, discharging and delivering the goods.
This is a practical and commercially important change. It places greater emphasis on operational control, documentation, risk management and claims handling from receipt to delivery. Moreover, the Revised Code also broadens the definition of “actual carrier”. In appropriate circumstances, parties such as port operators may fall within that concept and may therefore benefit from carrier exemptions and limitation of liability.
These changes reflect commercial reality and are to be welcomed. Modern shipping is not performed by one party in isolation. It is performed across an integrated logistics chain.
The Revised Code also clarifies shipper obligations. Shippers must deliver goods in accordance with the contract of carriage and warrant that the goods are fit for the agreed transport.
The Revised Code also addresses the recurring problem in shipping practice of uncollected cargo. Where cargo is not collected at the port of discharge, the costs and risks may be borne by the shipper, subject to important qualifications where the consignee has exercised rights under the contract. This is a further commercially important change. Uncollected cargo creates storage costs, delay, port charges, customs complications and disposal risk. The Revised Code gives parties a clearer statutory starting point.
The Revised Code also introduces a shipper’s right to request changes during the carrier’s period of responsibility, including suspension of carriage, return of goods, change of discharge port or delivery to another consignee, subject to compensation for resulting losses and the carrier’s limited rights to refuse.
Statutory recognition is now given to electronic transport records. This is one of the most important practical reforms introduced by the Revised Code, in that legal support is now given to paperless trade. Indeed, electronic transport records which satisfy statutory requirements will have the same legal effect as paper transport documentation. Parties may agree to issue and use them. Conversion between electronic and paper records is also permitted.
For carriers, traders, banks and insurers, the direction is significant: electronic bills of lading and other digital shipping records are moving from innovation to infrastructure.
One of the most important changes concerns China-related international carriage. Where the port of loading or port of discharge is in China, Chapter IV of the Revised Code will apply to international contracts of carriage of goods by sea. This may be a significant development for contracts which have historically relied on foreign governing law clauses.
Parties should not assume that a foreign governing law clause will, in every case, displace mandatory provisions of the Revised Code before Chinese courts or relevant tribunals. Accordingly, for contracts historically governed by English law, careful review is likely warranted.
The practical implications may be significant for bills of lading, contracts of carriage, finance documentation, documentary credit requirements, insurance arrangements and P&I cover.
The Revised Code also supports maritime finance. It introduces rules on the registration of ship financing leases. Once registered, the lessor’s title may be effective against bona fide third parties, giving greater certainty to financiers, lessors and investors. It also brings maritime leasing closer to modern commercial finance practice and strengthens China’s position as a ship finance market.
The Revised Code introduces a dedicated chapter on liability for ship oil pollution damage, representing a substantive environmental reform and clarifying liability, compensation, compulsory insurance and fund mechanisms for ship-source oil pollution damage. It also addresses pollution caused by persistent oil and bunker oil and strengthens duties to prevent and mitigate marine environmental damage. This change underscores a welcome message that environmental risk is now a core part of maritime risk.
The Revised Code also seeks to modernise the marine insurance framework. It introduces provisions concerning vessels under construction, return of premiums, open cover insurance, breach of warranty and the insurer’s duty to draw attention to important standard-form terms. It also expressly recognises the legal status and operational model of P&I Clubs as mutual insurance associations.
This matters because P&I Clubs sit at the centre of maritime risk allocation. Express statutory recognition gives greater certainty to shipowners, operators, insurers and claimants.
The limitation rules have also been subject to revision. For carriage of goods claims, the Revised Code distinguishes between claims against carriers and actual carriers, and claims against shippers, consignees or holders of transport documents. Limitation rules for general average contribution claims and marine insurance claims have also been refined.
These changes will affect dispute strategy and parties should review limitation positions early, especially where claims arise from China-related carriage, general average or marine insurance.
In the round, the Revised Code should prompt a practical contract review:
