Shanghai Daily News

The Shanghai Higher People's Court yesterday rejected the appeal of China Pacific Property Insurance Co Ltd in the city's first lawsuit involving construction of Donghai Bridge.

The Zhoushan branch of Pacific Insurance lost the original lawsuit because it failed to provide enough evidence. The Higher People's Court said no new evidence was offered in the appeal.

On August 28, 2003, a cable managed by Zhejiang Shengsi Electric Power Company was destroyed and caused a power outage.

The power outage was between piers No. 138 and No. 139 of Donghai Bridge still under construction at that time. The cable was repaired on November 1, 2003, and the repairers believed the destruction was due to anchors.

Pacific Insurance, as the insurer for the cable, paid 1.18 million yuan (US$145,679) compensation to the electric power company in February and received the right to ask for compensation from the bridge's constructors - Shanghai Tongsheng Bridge Construction Co Ltd and the CHEC Shanghai Port Construction Corp.

Pacific Insurance said the destruction happened within the pier construction area, where only ships of construction companies were allowed to pass, according to a notice issued by the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration.

Though the insurer didn't know which ship destroyed the cable, it assumed the constructors were responsible.

The defendants argued it had negotiated with the power company to decide on the construction blueprint to ensure the cable was safe.

When the destruction occurred, the piers had already been finished. They also argued that despite the ban, some ships had entered the construction area illegally.

"It's possible the ships that came in illegally destroyed the cable," said Chen Rui, the lawyer for CHEC Shanghai Port Construction Corp.