The filing rose concerns among some of the nation’s biggest retailers that some merchandise may not arrive in time for the crucial holiday season, blooomberg.com reported.
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“The government asked Hanjin Group to pay some overdue fees and payments to resolve outstanding cargo issues, saying that it can help”, said Ryu Jae-hyun, an analyst at Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities. “So those toys held up in container boxes will be able find their way to consumers”.
The Hanjin group suffered a severe blow to its reputation in 2014 when Cho Hyun-ah, Cho Yang-hos daughter and a vice president of Korean Air, threw a tantrum over how macadamia nuts were served to her on a flight and ordered the plane she was on to return to the gate at John F. Kennedy Airport in NY.
Meanwhile, the Korean government set up a special taskforce on Sunday to cope with potential disruptions in maritime trade and the economy as a whole caused by Hanjin’s recent difficulties.
Hanjin Shipping Co’s 117930.KS government-backed creditors are ready to provide the collapsed carrier with roughly 100 billion won ($90.60 million) of loans if Hanjin’s parent provides collateral, South Korean government officials said on Tuesday.
With the country’s largest ocean shipper idled and the shipbuilding industry also in crisis, a government task force is directing moves to salvage the container shipping sector, which like ocean shipping worldwide has been battered by weak demand and overcapacity.
The ship seized in Singapore, the Hanjin Rome, includes about 50 containers with components for a nuclear power plant under construction in the United Arab Emirates by a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. All Hanjin Shipping’s assets were seized under a court order. The court will hear the company’s petition for provisional relief on September 6 after approving its application to reduce the time for a hearing, according to a court filing dated September 3. The company is at risk of creditor action in the US, and its current financial state renders it impossible to repay 3.14 trillion won of loans maturing within one year, the filing showed.
“If Hanjin ships with cargo fail to dock at ports, exporters could also have to bear additional expenses on extra loading and offloading of goods as well as on finding other vessels for shipping their goods to the final destinations”.
The confusion might sink some trucking firms that contract with Hanjin to deliver cargo containers carrying everything from electronics to auto parts from ports to company loading bays.
The world’s seventh-largest container line has been unprofitable for four of the last five years.
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