About 70 container movers and 15 bulk ships are stranded at 50 ports in 26 countries, according to Hanjin.
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The lead creditor bank for South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd said it will be hard to accept a court request to provide the firm new funds – funds seen vital to resolving the problem of cargo stranded around the world. But the ship must finish up and move on as quickly as possible, and the request for food and water was rejected, said the captain via satellite telephone. He believes the actual amount of cargo is higher than that.
As of Wednesday, some 86 vessels were not operating normally, Hanjin Shipping said. Industry analysts say the ships are carrying $14 billion worth of merchandise – everything from electronics to clothing to furniture, and, according to one report, 80 tons of kimchi, a spicy Korean fermented vegetable side dish. The Financial Services Commission said Hanjin, the country’s largest ocean container shipper, will seek bankruptcy protection in 43 countries, including Canada, Germany and Britain.
“Without a doubt, it is a mess of an issue for the businesses themselves to be forced to untangle”. “We’re passengers on a bus, and we’re being told we can’t get off”, said Evan Jones, a lawyer for Samsung, said Tuesday. As a result, over 80 Hanjin ships worldwide carrying 500-thousand containers are now stranded at sea leaving hundreds of American retailers almost emptyhanded ahead of the fast approaching holiday season. Port charges for a ship with 8,000 containers typically amount to United States dollars 35,000 per port call, plus the added cost of hiring terminal operators to handle the many containers. Typically, port fees for a ship that can carry 8,000 boxes would be about $35,000 per call. South Korea’s government expects a ruling in Hanjin’s favor, said Kim Hyun-jung, an official at the foreign affairs ministry.
Domestic exporters and importers whose goods are on board ships of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd have been on tenterhooks since the South Korean container shipper filed for bankruptcy protection.
But this decision does not guarantee that the vessels will be able to unload cargoes. The Seoul court said, however, that even if this came through the shipper needed more. And as long as I’m sitting on Hanjin’s containers, at least I have some collateral.
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About 110 workers hired by Hanjin’s contractors got letters terminating their employment by the end of this month, said Song Deuk Hwan, a union leader at Busan’s new port with about 200 members. As The Guardian explains, “A weakened economy since the 2008 recession hurt global demand and trade at the same time that steamship lines continued to build more and larger vessels – enormous ships that were conceived as cost-effective when freight costs were higher several years ago”.
