Recently, the judge of Haikou Maritime Court successfully enforced against a ship under a loan contract dispute, as the clue hid in the shadow was eventually dug out by the judge after painstaking efforts. The enforcement won high recognition from the applicant, making another contribution to the court’s enforcement achievements.

In a loan contract dispute, as the respondent Lin did not fulfill the repayment obligation affirmed in the effective judgment, the applicant Wang therefore applied with the court for compulsory enforcement. After docketing the case, the handling judge immediately issued an enforcement notice and property declaration order to the respondent and commenced property investigation at the same time. However, there was no property held in the name of the respondent. The court therefore issued a consumption restriction order to the respondent according to law. The case struggled ahead with little progress.

To secure the applicant’s access to the benefits as affirmed in the effective judgment, the handling judge visited the resident place of the respondent. Fortunately, the judge learnt from the neighborhood that Lin might be the owner of a fishing boat registered in the name of Zhang, but the boat had been transferred to Zheng. The judge then turned to Zheng and eased his concern after patient explanation on the regulations of law and his responsibilities and obligations. Zheng told everything about the ship and provided the ship’s purchase agreement. As shown in the agreement, Lin was the actual owner of the ship, and Zhang was only a nominal registered owner. It was also agreed that all the sales proceeds would be paid to the account of Tang (daughter-in-law of Lin). The judge froze the account of Tang immediately.

With her account being frozen, Tang made an enforcement objection, claiming that the proceeds would be used by her husband for the purchase of the fishing boat. The judge handling the objection consulted all the relevant evidential materials, held a hearing, and collected sufficient evidence. Eventually, Lin had to admit that the he was the actual owner of the fishing boat. The court dismissed the objection of Tang, and transferred the balance of the account (after deducting the ship purchase price) to the applicant.

The enforcement, which might be otherwise frustrated, finally found its way to success thanks to the painstaking job of the handling judge.