Cargo handling operators refused to work for the shipping company because they were anxious that the cash-strapped firm could not make payment.
Advertisement
Hanjin has also been granted court protection in Japan, Great Britain and Singapore.
Back in Korea, Seoul’s maritime ministry has projected the company will need over 650 billion won, or 590 million dollars, to successfully unload all of its ships and satisfy overdue financial obligations.
“I will do everything in my power to resolve the trading crisis”.
The world’s seventh-largest container carrier and its clients are scrambling to move an estimated $14 billion worth of cargo off ships that are no longer operating normally in the wake of its collapse last week.
The tenuous financial situation of Hanjin Shipping – the world’s seventh-largest container shipping company, which accounts for almost 8 percent of America’s Pacific maritime trade volume – has made headlines for days as dozens of the outfit’s vessels sit stranded at sea.
The main creditor of Hanjin Shipping refused a South Korean court’s request to give further financial support to the debt-ridden shipper, local news reported on September 8.
The South Korean government has said government-backed creditors would offer another 100bn won if collateral was provided.
As Hanjin represents almost 8 percent of trans-Pacific trade volume for the USA market, this has prompted the National Retail Federation to appeal to the Department of Commerce and the Federal Maritime Commission to work with the South Korean government, ports, and others to prevent disruption to the supply chain. Hanjin Shipping, which commands 2.9 percent of the global market share, had the equivalent of .3 billion of total liabilities on June 30, and had been posting losses in four of the last five years.
Also, some of its ships have been seized by its creditors, further complicating the problem. Hanjin Group will provide 100 billion won ($90 million), including 40 billion won from Chairman Cho Yang Ho, to help contain disruptions in the supply chain. Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho has vowed to put millions of dollars in private funds toward a damage-control effort, but a long-term solution to the worldwide bankruptcy crisis has yet to be fully ironed out.
Advertisement
United Parcel Service Inc said on Thursday it is seeing a bump in demand for its freight services and is working with customers in Asia to shift goods from Hanjin containers to other ocean freight operators or air freight services.
