Federal Maritime Commissioner William Doyle has issued a statement three weeks prior to the one-year anniversary of the Hanjin bankruptcy, calling for liner alliances to shoulder losses and ensure shipments reach their destinations even in the event of a member going under .
“It is so important that another Hanjin debacle does not happen again. Companies may fail, but the responsibility lies with everyone, at least to the extent that we do not have the damage that occurred post-Hanjin,” Doyle said.
When Hanjin sought court protection on August 31 last year, more than $14bn of cargo was left stranded on Hanjin’s 100-plus strong fleet, sending global supply chains into chaos.
Doyle said: “I firmly believe that if a carrier joins an alliance, it is the responsibility of the alliance members to ensure the cargo gets to where it needs to go.”
Doyle praised THE Alliance, a new container grouping, for its contingency fund which it has created to be prepared in the event that any of its members run into financial difficulty.
