China has become a maritime judicial center for the Asia-Pacific region after three decades of effort, according to a report by the Supreme People's Court on Tuesday.

Since maritime courts were set up in 1984, cases have increased annually by about 10 percent. By 2013, 225,283 cases had been handled, of which 215,826 were concluded, involving over 70 countries and regions.

The annual caseload rose from a little over 100 cases in the early years to more than 20,000 in 2013, the most in the world.

Between 1984 and 2013, the courts detained 7,744 vessels, of which 1,660 were foreign, and auctioned off 633 of them, including 123 foreign ships.

The ten maritime courts are located in Beihai, Dalian, Guangzhou, Haikou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin, Wuhan and Xiamen.

Among the best known cases is one involving the Japanese ship, Baosteel Emotion, owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. The shipping firm was sued in 1988 over delays in leasing payments for two ships and consequential economic losses dating back to the 1930s. The maritime court ruled in 2007 that it should compensate a Chinese firm to the tune of 2.9 billion Japanese Yen (28.5 million US dollars).

Shanghai Municipal Higher People's Court upheld the verdict in 2010, and the maritime court released the ship several days later after the owners paid the outstanding amounts.