The maritime and admiralty practice at Wang Jing & Co frequently represents traditional shipping clients, such as P&I clubs, shipowners, and insurance companies, and it has more recently expanded into supporting banking and finance institutions, as well as trading companies. The team has established itself as a go-to within the industry, frequently representing enterprises in arbitration and litigation cases. The team also includes several ocean captains who act as marine consultants, enabling the firm to offer in-depth insights to its clients. Xiangyong Chen utilises his previous experience at COSCO Shipping Corporation to handle complex maritime cases. John Wang acts for foreign and domestic vessel owners in arbitration and mediation proceedings, while Rongcun Li handles insurance, maritime, and admiralty legal affairs. Tianjian-based Zongcui Zou specialises in shipping and off-shore projects, Hui Yuan in Qingdao is an expert in ocean engineering and ship building disputes, and Jun Xu takes charge of shipping in Shanghai. ‘Dynamic lawyer' Yongli Wang is praised for his enthusiasm and skills in maritime cases.

The shipping practice at Wintell & Co Law Firm utilises its vast knowledge of the sector to advise on marine casualties, shipbuilding, international trade, and bill of lading issues. The firm is praised for its ‘unique' expertise within the maritime field and is a go-to for both non-litigation and litigation maritime-related matters. Both wet and dry maritime and shipping mandates are within the scope of the team, which is led by Mervyn Chen. Chen is an expert in complicated commercial litigation and transactions, especially those involving collisions, fires, explosions, and personal injury. Nautical specialist Cunqiang Cai, maritime lawyer James Hu, and Taijin-based Hailong Li are also key to the team, as well as Jason Chen, Changqing Yu, Jasmine Liu, and Liang Chen.

With a team based across Beijing and over 10 other ports and cities in China, the maritime and admiralty law practice at Dacheng Law Offices is well-equipped to handle a range of shipping and maritime issues. Common matters addressed by the team are applications for, and enforcement of, maritime injunctions and applications for preservation orders, as well as charterparties disputes. Other work undertaken by the practice includes general maritime disputes, oil spills and environmental damages, and disputes in international trade. George Wang leads the practice alongside Darong Wang, who specialises in bill of lading and carter party disputes, aerospace specialist Jingjing Wu, who leads on ship financing projects, litigation and arbitration lawyer Sufang Huang, and Southern China maritime expert Kai Wu.

Founding partner Jing Wang established the shipping practice at Wang Jing & GH Law Firm, and he leads the team from Guangzhou as an expert in international shipping matters, frequently acting for international P&I clubs, banks, SOEs, and multinational corporations. Co-head Wilson Wang is the go-to for clients with maritime and commercial arbitration cases, and he also assists with maritime, admiralty, and offshore engineering issues. The firm utilises its close connections with overseas shipping law firms and insurance companies to better assist Chinese and foreign clients in cross-border and complex maritime matters.

Zhong Lun Law Firm is known for its domestic and international maritime arbitration work and its skills in non-contentious shipping matters. Trade contracts, special maritime procedures, and maritime tortious and commercial disputes all fall within the scope of its practice. Clients range from specialised import and export trading companies, shipping and logistics companies, ports, shipyards, and financial leasing companies. The practice is co-led by dispute resolution specialists Baosheng Zhang and Lijun Cao, while Chenbiao Li leads the shipping team, working together with P&I clubs, shipowners, marine underwriters, and operators on all their maritime-related issues.

AllBright Law Offices collaborates with domestic shipping colleges, major ports, shipping companies, and judicial institutions within the maritime industry to give its clients in-depth perspectives on their maritime matters. The team assists clients from shipping enterprises, insurance companies, P&I clubs, and shipyards with multi-jurisdictional issues, such as cargo transportation, sales contracts, and arbitration rules. Based between Shenzhen and Guangdong, practice head Hongkai Xu is an expert in large complex maritime cases, including lease disputes and cargo delivery and damage disputes, as well as ship oil pollution issues. Fang Cao is a specialist in maritime cargo transportation and freight agency contract disputes, while Haijun He focuses on ship construction and financial leasing.

Boasting a range of cargo and hull experts, AnJie Broad Law Firm has been growing its shipping and admiralty practice with the additions of arbitration specialist and co-head Shouzhi An in May 2022 from Guantao Law Firm and Dongyang Yang in January 2023 from Wang Jing & Co, who is adept at handling maritime matters. The team addresses custom law issues for Chinese-based insurance companies and has recently been expanding into offshore project insurance work, resolving disputes concerning major offshore wind farm construction accidents. It also handles collisions, charterparty disputes, and ship repair contracts for shipowners. Bing Yan, Lei Chen, Shengmiao Qi, and Yong Wang all jointly lead the practice alongside An with their combined shipping and maritime expertise.

DeHeng Law Offices handles local and international maritime treaties for its varied client base of insurance companies, P&I clubs, and shipping companies. The practice also specialises in maritime litigation work, utilising its expertise to address complex cross-border issues. Other key areas for the team are carriage of goods by sea, multimodal transport contracts, and construction and repairs of ships and offshore engineering. Xianwei Peng takes charge of the team working on international arbitration maritime and international trade matters. Zhiyong Zhang co-chairs the practice, advising multinational clients on shipping mandates, marine casualties, and dispute resolution.

Global Law Office adeptly handles contentious and non-contentious cases across the shipping industry, encompassing ship arrests and ship auctions, as well as foreign maritime arbitration and spill pollution litigation. The team is mainly known for its litigation and arbitration work, assisting large shipping companies, banks, logistics and trade companies, and P&I clubs with complex issues. The practice is co-led by Yifeng Gao, Jingye Jiang, Ting Lei, and Lei Niu. Gao predominantly assists international clients and Jiang is experienced in dispute resolution, while Lei advises on a wide range of shipping matters. Shanghai-based Niu focuses on arbitration for multi-national and international companies.

The maritime law practice at Huang & Huang Co. Law Firm focuses on international commercial dispute resolution covering a wide range of litigation issues, such as cargo claims, charterparty disputes, and salvage and wreck removal. Based in Guangzhou, the team assists insurance companies and P&I clubs, and recently has started a communications and liaison office in Nanning, further expanding the teams’ capabilities. Maritime specialist Hui Huang leads the team handling the full spectrum of shipping matters. Xiaoling Chen focuses on marine insurance claims and cargo claims, while Fan Zhang works on a range of disputes, such as ship ownership, ship chartering, and oil pollution at sea.

Jingtian & Gongcheng largely focuses on maritime and admiralty offshore engineering matters, as well as issues involving international cargo transportation, shipping, bill of lading, and charterparties. Due to the team being based in Guangzhou, it is specialised in advising Southern China clients, from shipowners and ship operators to heavy industry enterprises and insurance companies. Shuzhou Zhao chairs the practice with his ‘wealth of experience’ and is supported by Bo Yang and Jian Hu.

Jincheng Tongda & Neal is specialised in Northern China maritime matters, including domestic and cross-border disputes involving charterparties, bill of lading, crew claims, and ship collisions. The team has been growing its charter and voyage charter dispute offering and acts for shipping companies, shipyards, logistics companies, and governmental authorities. Dalian-based practice head Yang Yi is noted for his expertise in shipping and international commodity trade, and Lei Li co-leads the team from Beijing. Qiang Shi is also of note and handles commercial and maritime disputes.

King & Wood Mallesons assists traditional shipping clients, as well as steel mills, oil companies, and finance leasing companies with their maritime issues. The practice focuses on cross-border disputes, including auction sales of assets held overseas, insolvency and judicial management proceedings, and arbitration proceedings. Practice head Edward Ma is knowledgeable on wet and dry maritime law and mainly deals with large-scale disputes, such as cross-border liquidation of shipping enterprises.

SGLA Law Firm is well known for its maritime insurance practice, where it advises PICC, CPIC, and other insurance companies on both hull and cargo-related issues. Dispute resolution for shipowners is another key area of the practice. While the firm is based in Shanghai, the team assists clients from all over China, including enterprises from Zhejiang, Ningbo, and Chongqing. Team lead Honver Lee is an experienced litigator and is sought out by shipyards and insurance companies for his maritime and foreign-related commerce expertise.

The shipping team at V&T Law Firm is led out of Shanghai by marine expert Victoria Wei, who specialises in both wet and dry shipping matters. She has advised overseas freight forwarding companies and agencies on inbound investment projects and regularly handles contentious issues. The practice often assists domestic clients in oversea litigation and frequently handles inbound investment projects. Its client roster includes P&I clubs, hull and machinery insurers, ship owners, and shipyards. Walter Huang focuses on the shipping industry, often advising on maritime merchant disputes, as well as complex shipping transactions.

Based in Dalian, the maritime team at Yingke Law Firm handles a large number of foreign-related shipping insurance contract disputes cases, as well as disputes involving cargo transportation, ship collisions, and marine casualties. The team also represents clients in disputes regarding contracts of carriage, sale, and lease. The team is led by marine litigation expert Pengnan Wang, who is supported by Gun Wang. Wuhan-based Dongsheng Xiao is also noted.