ABSTRACT
Marine environmental pollution has drawn more and more attention in China. The recent pollution incidents involve the tanker Tasman Sea (2002), pipelines in Dalian at the PetroChina port (2010) and offshore facility Penglai 19-3, operated by ConocoPhilips (2011). With the continuing economic growth, the shipping industry in China is still developing and offshore oil and gas exploration activities are expanding, which pose increasing risks of pollution to the marine environment in China. The Chinese people at all levels are more aware of the seriousness of the marine pollution problem in China. Pollution victims need an effective mechanism to protect their right of compensation when they become victims of marine pollution. More and more environmental organizations and other NGOs are involved in the litigation in assisting the victims and also with the goal of protecting the marine environment that suffered damage. On the other hand, the legal regime in China dealing specifically with the marine pollution issue is strengthened in recent years. However, a crucial issue remains whether such a liability system can effectively and efficiently tackle the issue of marine pollution. Therefore, the goal of this chapter is to analyze the current legal regime concerning marine pollution liability in China: the method of law and economics will be applied to examine whether and to what extent the Chinese legal regime can contribute to the protection of the marine environment and victim protection in an economically efficient manner.
