Hanjin Shipping Line Update | September 206

Hanjin Shipping Line has filed for receivership on Wednesday the 31st August 2016 after losing the support of its banks, setting the stage for its assets to be frozen.

Hanjin, which is the world’s seventh-largest container line, has had its shares suspended. The courts in Korea will now decide whether Hanjin Shipping should remain as a going concern or be dissolved. It is expected that this process could take up to two months.

What does this mean?

The short term ramifications have already been felt and we have seen the following scenarios emerge over the last 24 hours

Ports around the world have stopped handling Hanjin owned vessels and/or refuse to offer them a berth. Partly loaded/unloaded vessels have already been removed from berths. Future handling of transit vessels is normally determined by the commitment of an entity to manage these costs (Subject to existing debts)

If the container arrived into port on a Hanjin Vessel, has been discharged already and was slot chartered through another carrier it is expected that container will be released.

If the container arrived into port on a Hanjin Vessel, has been discharged already and was shipped under a direct Hanjin contract /bill of lading then it is expected there will be a hold on this container.

It is not unusual for the Ports to charge storage on these containers in this situation. Release timeframes are unknown at this stage.

What to do next?

It is important you determine if any shipments in transit are affected by this situation. Mainfreight are auditing all transactions at present and will advise shippers and consignees accordingly of any possible shipments effected by this situation.

How much of a delay will there be?

At present we cannot advise on a time frame of events. Historical receiverships have seen cargo held for periods of three months. Press from Korea suggests the courts are looking to expedite decisions sooner rather than later and there is market feedback that Korea’s 2nd largest shipping line, Hyundai Merchant Marine, may be in a position to manage some routes and or equipment. Hanjin will be looking to lodge court injunctions to block any seizures by creditors and protect shipper interests.

We hope to be able to supply clearer information over the coming days as the situation develops.

Our Customer Service Teams will continue to monitor the situation and advise specific client advice individually.