In International Shipping News 09/11/2016
Almost all of the container ships operated by troubled Hanjin Shipping have completed their cargo unloading at ports around the world as of Monday, with five container ships still stranded at sea, a high-ranking government official said.
However some discrepancies were found in the government data as the company clarified there were actually six ships stranded at sea.
Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok speaks at a press briefing in Seoul, Tuesday. (Ministry of Strategy and Finance)
Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said 95.5 percent of the 396,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit cargo under contract with Hanjin have been unloaded, while the remaining 18,000 TEU goods are either being delivered or waiting for transshipment.
Out of the 378,000 TEU cargo unloaded, 3,500 TEU have not been returned to their owners, he said.
“This should be basically resolved between the owners of the cargo and Hanjin Shipping, but the government will help facilitate the process by cooperating with port authorities and local logistics businesses,” Choi told reporters in Seoul in a joint press briefing with Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Yoon Hak-bae.
Out of the 97 container ships operated by Hanjin, which is now under court-led restructuring, 94 have unloaded goods and the remaining three have yet to do so, the government said.
“As for the ship provisionally seized in Shanghai, we will consult with the Shanghai port authorities to help it unload cargo early,” Choi said.
“For Hanjin Rome which is under arrest in Singapore, Hanjin Shipping is reviewing (whether) to seek a public sale of the ship (to pay overdue bills on unloading) but this issue requires consultation with the court,” Yoon said.
According to the government, 771 crew members — 377 Koreans and 394 foreigners — are still on board, while another 304 have returned to their home countries.
As for the remaining crew, the government is sending food and daily necessities to those whose food supply is only able to last for less than 15 days.
The collapse of the world’s seventh largest shipper in early September had brought about a global logistics disruption, as ships were blocked from entering ports worldwide out of fear that service firms and port workers might not get paid.
Meanwhile, Choi stressed that the ongoing political scandal over President Park Geun-hye’s confidante has nothing to do with Hanjin Shipping’s failure to get financial aids from creditor banks.
“Hanjin Shipping is facing the current situation because its self-rescue plans, negotiations to lower charter fees and efforts to normalize its management failed to meet the government’s guidelines,” Choi said.
Rumors had been raised that Choi Soon-sil, a longtime confidante of President Park, might have put pressure on creditor banks of Hanjin not to give a financial lifeline to the shipper, as Hanjin was not aggressive enough in supporting the nongovernment K-Sports and Mir foundations, local news reports said. The two foundations, allegedly controlled by Choi, raked a combined 80 billion won ($70.5 million) of funds from major conglomerates.
With its debt-to-asset ratio hitting 1,076 percent and total debt reaching 6 trillion won as of the end of June, Hanjin Shipping has been seeking to sell assets including port terminals and global business networks.
Source: Korea Herald
