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South Korean president warns Seoul will not rescue Hanjin Shipping

Six Hanjin Shipping vessels are confirmed as arrested following the line’s court receivership at the end of last month. Seven more are docked at ports under embargo while another three on charter have been returned to their owners, Hanjin said in a belated fleet update yesterday.

Efforts are being stepped up to get as many ships as possible back onto Korean soil, with Busan Port Authority preparing to welcome more Hanjin hulls than normal in the coming weeks. With a US judge extending bankruptcy protection to the Korean company, Hanjin is now offloading cargo of a second ship that has been queuing at Long Beach for the past fortnight.

Meanwhile, Cho Yang-ho, the chairman of parent, Hanjin Group, has completed transferring an emergency KRW40bn ($36m) into the stricken line to help get cargoes offloaded. However, regulators have warned that it may take “considerable time” for sister firm, Korean Air to come up with the KRW60bn it has pledged to help out Hanjin.

On Monday, Choi Eun-young, a former chairwoman of Hanjin Shipping, pledged to provide KRW10bn in private funds.

The promises of additional funding however fall way short of what Hanjin needs to survive. It had debts in excess of $5bn as of the end of June.

Moreover, the Korean government looks likely to remain steadfast in its decision not to throw more money Hanjin’s way.

“We will not sit silently by as corporate managements who do not aggressively try to recover their businesses and wait for the government to solve everything,” the nation’s president, Park Geun-hye, said at a cabinet meeting today.

To access Splash’s full, unrivalled coverage of the decline and fall of Hanjin Shipping, click here.

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.

Comments

  1. South Korea President, Park Guen-Hye, Quoted Hanjin Shipping Management, Is not trying hard enough to recovery their business, Wow, This President must be sitting in his closet, Hanjin Shipping, Got New CEO, Sold Two, (2) Capesize Bulkers for $45M, and Is Selling Their Hanjin Italy Division for $40M, I, say Hanjin Shipping Management, Are Working very diligently to stay afloat and fix their problems. However Hanjin Parent Group, Was suppose to Transfer $90M, This week, While Korea Ministry of Ocean & Fisheries, Was to match their $90M, So what goes guys, Let not be like Country of China, and & Do a Reversal, and Renege on the deal, That is viewed as unethical, unprofessional & unwarranted. Get in their, and get this deal done!

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