On Friday, the firm had filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S., making a so-called “Chapter 15” filing with a United States court, a spokeswoman said on Monday, which would help protect its ships from being seized.
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The Wall Street Journal says the application was lodged last Friday, just two days after the company applied for protection in Korean courts.
At a news conference Sunday, Rep. Janice Hahn said she will ask Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker “to step in and start discussions with Hanjin and South Korea to come to an agreement that guarantees our ports and our workers will be paid”.
Almost 80 Hanjin vessels have been either seized or denied cargo handling or docking at ports in countries including the US, China, Japan, Spain and Canada, South Korea’s government said Monday.
After the firm slid into bankruptcy proceedings, vessels of the world’s seventh-largest container carrier have been stranded at sea and ports which hurt supplies of retailers ahead of the holiday season.
Hanjin Group said it made the decision to “normalize the unloading of Hanjin Shipping’s containers” to “minimize the damage to exporters and importers”. “To save Hanjin Shipping by financing 500 billion won is the fastest way to solving the current situation”, claimed Kim Young-moo, vice chairman of the Korea Shipowners’ Association in a joint public-private emergency meeting on the Hanjin Shipping Incident presided over by Suh Byung-soo, mayor of Busan on the day.
The Financial Supervisory Commission said 79 of Hanjin’s vessels, including 61 container ships, have had their operations disrupted.
Hanjin is now the largest shipping company in Korea, operating approximately 60 regular lines world-wide, with 140 container or bulk vessels, court papers said.
The chains are working to minimise delivery disruptions from cargo waiting to depart Asia, travelling on the ocean or arriving at ports, Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation trade group, said last week.
A company spokeswoman, Park Eun-hye, confirmed Hanjin was moving to protect its assets but refused to specify in how many countries, beyond the USA and South Korea. The Seoul-based company said one ship in Singapore had been seized by the ship’s owner.
The shipping company has posted net losses every year since 2011.
Global demand and trade have suffered since the 2008 recession, but shipping lines continued to build more and larger vessels.
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Hanjin Group, the parent of Hanjin Shipping, is considering whether to provide collateral to secure the loans, said a spokesman for its flagship unit, Korean Air Lines Co 003490.KS .
