Busan: Business May Not be As Usual, Post Hanjin

 

As 13 Hanjin ships crowded waters outside the country's biggest port, the South Korean court handling Hanjin's receivership cast doubt on the container carrier's ability to survive a restructuring.

 

A rehabilitation plan for the world's seventh-largest container carrier is "realistically impossible" if top priority debt such as backlogged charter fees exceed 1 trillion won ($896 million), the Seoul Central District Court said, South Korea's Yonhap newswire reported on Wednesday.

 

Hanjin, which filed for court receivership late last month, must submit a rehabilitation plan in December that creditors owed billions of dollars will be called to agree to.

 

Hanjin has begun returning chartered vessels to their owners and is trying to secure funds to help unload ships. An estimated $14 billion in cargo was initially trapped on its ships around the world, creating havoc ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season.

 

Some 13 Hanjin container ships were waiting in international waters outside Busan port, according to latest Hanjin data on Wednesday, as South Korea's largest port struggled to accommodate vessels denied entry elsewhere and forced to sail home to South Korea.

 

"It's a highly abnormal situation. Time is money for a shipper, so the more ships wait, the more losses," a Busan Port Authority spokeswoman said. 

 

"Some ships are waiting because they cannot leave for their destination," she said.