AsiaContainers

HMM sets mid-March deadline for charter renegotiations

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has set a date of mid-March to renegotiate rates for its chartered-in fleet. A team is working in London to hold dialogue with all its charter partners, sources in Seoul tell Splash. The mid-March date gives the heavily in debt line a couple of weeks before the first of two important repayments it must make to creditors this week.

With more than $5bn in debts, HMM sent a letter to its charter partners a 10 days ago seeking renegotations as it warned it might go bust otherwise. HMM has since stepped up this exercise as it desperately tries to fix its dire financial situation. Its dry bulk division is being sold, as is a container terminal in Busan while a sister firm involved in broking has been put up for sale, all in a bid to save HMM, the flagship of the Hyundai Group.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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