Creditors are having some success at selling off Hanjin Shipping ships – even unfavoured panamax boxships have found buyers.
South Korean intra-Asia player KMTC has snapped up four Samsung Heavy-built sister ships. KMTC is understood to be paying $5.3m per ship for the 4,275 teu quartet which are listed as Hanjin Norfolk, Hanjin Piraeus, Hanjin Durban and Hanjin Rio de Janeiro.
With all the consolidation seen in container shipping this year KMTC has now crept into the top 20 on Alphaliner’s liner list. KMTC’s fleet now has 126,351 slots, putting it in 19th place worldwide.
Meanwhile, Hanjin Shipping, which filed for court protection at the end of August becoming the biggest container bankruptcy in history, continues to slide down the ranks. With liquidation now very much on the cards for what used to be South Korea’s number one shipping line, Hanjin has slid from seventh spot on Alphaliner’s rankings in August to 27th today with a fleet comprising 52,907 slots.
It’s not just boxships that have been put up for sale. Arcelormittal Shipping has been revealed as the buyer of two Hanjin capesizes in recent broking reports. Arcelormittal Shipping has paid $22.3m for the 2012-, Daehan-built Hanjin Port Walcott and $20.8m for a similar ship that is one year older.
Arcelormittal Shipping, part of the the world’s largest steel producer, was founded in 1995. As well as owning a number of panamaxes and capes, it is a very active charterer.
