Sealed bids will be lodged at a court in Hong Kong tomorrow for the last real jewels in the once mighty Hanjin crown. Up for sale are five 13,100 teu ships – all built in South Korea in 2012 and 2013. While technically the winning bid is scheduled to be announced on February 14, sources in Hong Kong tell Splash that one line has jumped the queue with what is thought to be an unbeatable offer.
“The rumour doing the rounds is that a very serious buyer is already lined up by the arresting party and that it’s unlikely the tender will go to a second round,” the source said.
When it filed for bankruptcy at the end of last August, Hanjin was the seventh largest containerline in the world with more than 600,000 slots in its fleet, a figure that has now been slashed to less than 50,000 in a series of fire sales.
A court in Seoul last week rescinded Hanjin’s court protection, and it is now likely to be declared bankrupt next week.
