Hanjin Sends SoS
As most of Hanjin Shipping Co's assets are stranded at sea or in ports world-wide, the the South Korean company is seeking to protect assets world-wide.
Hanjin Shipping’s 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, Fortune reports South Korean government officials as saying.
Hanjin's collapse has left much of its fleet stranded at sea, unable to dock over fears that vessels be seized by creditors. According to BBC Seoul could give 100bn won ($91m; £68m) or more in long-term funding at low interest rates if Hanjin provided the necessary collateral.
BBC also reports that Parent company Hanjin Group on Tuesday also said it would inject $90m in fresh funds to resolve the disruptions to the cargo transport currently stuck at sea.
The company will take further legal action in countries beyond the U.S. for protection of its assets as it works to get a stalled supply chain moving again, says a report in WSJ.
Hanjin plans to file for court protection in about 10 countries, including Canada, Germany and the U.K., this week, and later expand that to 43 jurisdictions to protect its ships and other assets from being seized by creditors, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said Monday.
As of Monday, 79 Hanjin ships including 61 container ships and 18 bulk carriers have been denied port access, according to South Korea’s maritime ministry. That figure includes one vessel seized in Singapore by a creditor, a company spokeswoman said. Hanjin has 141 ships, of which 128 are operating.
Hanjin’s ships will make calls at ports including Singapore, Hamburg and Busan, South Korea, where its vessels are unlikely to get stranded, Deputy Finance Minister Choi Sang Mok said in Seoul Monday.
Regulations at these sites make them less likely places where the ships can get stuck, Choi said. The Financial Supervisory Commission said 79 of Hanjin’s vessels, including 61 container ships, have had their operations disrupted.
The South Korean giant represents nearly 8% of the trans-Pacific trade volume for the U.S. market, and with Hanjin's container ships marooned offshore, major retailers were scrambling to work out contingency plans to get their merchandise into stores.