According to Reuters, the South Korean shipping company Hanjin Shipping is selling two ships to deal with its financial problems.
The company is selling the Hanjin Sea and Hanjin Marine container ships. The vessels are valued between $18 and $22 million dollars. The company expects to have offers by the end of the month.
On September 13, the Hanjin Group transferred US $35.6 million to Hanjing Shipping, the first provision of liquidity that South Korea's biggest shipping company has received since it was declared bankrupt and denied access to the world's major ports.
The company announced in early September that all of its international shipments would remain at a standstill after their ships were denied access to various ports because they were unable to pay the ports' fees due to the company's lack of liquidity.
As a result of the crisis, the Hanjin Group pledged on September 6 to inject a total of $89 million dollars into the shipping company. 40% of this money would come from the assets of the company president, Cho Yang-ho. The money is expected to solve the current problems of the 93 vessels owned by the company (79 container ships and 14 bulk carriers), which have affected their operations since Hanjin was placed under receivership.
Last week a South Korean judge authorised the transfer of US $10 million to Hanjin to pay tug operators, ports, and for the download of four of its vessels that were bound for the US.
As a result, The Hanjin Boston, the Hanjin Gdynia and the Hanjin Greece can now begin downloading their cargo. However, a fourth vessel, the Hanjin Jungil remains stuck off the coast of California.
Ilana Volkov, the lawyer for Hanjin, said they were negotiating with each service provider that had barred the ship from docking. "My client is being held hostage," he said.
$53.4 million-dollar loan
Last Saturday, the board of Korean Air, which is owned by the parent company of the conglomerate, approved a loan of US $53.4 million to the company. Despite this, a second provision of liquidity will probably take time, as it is part of a long process, said a representative of Hanjin Shipping.
The US, the UK, Japan, and Spain, among others, are already allowing ships from Hanjin to access their ports. The shipping company is forwarding requests for bankruptcy protection to other terminals in the world, so that it can once again access them.
Source: Reuters / mundomaritimo.cl