Chinese courts have stepped up efforts in handling maritime cases from home and abroad, playing a bigger role in maintaining the order of oceans and promoting high-quality marine economic development, China's top court said on Friday.

Disclosing details of six recently closed cases, the Supreme People's Court emphasized the importance of maritime adjudication ahead of World Oceans Day, which will fall on Sunday, calling on courts nationwide to continue upholding equal protection of litigants, regardless of where they are from.

While urging judges to optimize legal services, the top court has also encouraged them to provide stronger support to protect maritime environment.

In one disclosed case, for example, Qingdao Maritime Court in Shandong province ordered 11 individuals involved in illegal sand mining to pay for the restoration of the marine environment and to issue a public apology through news outlets.

"Sea sand is a valuable marine resource, and its illegal and unregulated extraction leads to significant environmental damage," the Qingdao court said. "This practice depletes marine mineral resources, disrupts seabed ecosystems, and threatens the stability of the marine environment."

Additionally, it noted that using untreated sea sand in construction poses serious safety risks. "The lucrative nature of this illegal activity has created a complete supply chain involving extractors, buyers, transporters and sellers, causing extensive harm to marine natural resources and the ecosystems," it added.

It clarified that the 11 defendants in the case collectively violated maritime rights, regardless of whether they were involved in the extraction, transportation, or sale of sea sand, they should all be punished to effectively protect the marine environment and mineral resource security.