[THE INVESTOR] Hanjin Shipping’s bankruptcy filing has worsened the worldwide cargo disruptions, with the crisis taking a heavy toll on its consignors and subcontractors.

Nearly 80 Hanjin vessels have been denied port access on concerns that the shipper won’t be able to pay port fees, since South Korea’s largest container carrier entered court protection on Sept. 1. 




While some vessels were allowed to dock and began unloading at the US ports after a local court granted its bankruptcy protection, most of the vessels are still marooned at sea as they have been denied access to ports. It is still uncertain when or whether the remaining vessels would start unloading cargoes to deliver goods to their clients.

According to industry estimates, at least 170 billion won (US$153.25 million) is needed to unload all the containers from Hanjin’s vessels.

Hanjin Shipping’s parent company Hanjin Group pledged to provide some 100 billion won, including 40 billion won of group Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s personal assets, to ease the cargo crisis. But the amount still falls short to ease the ballooning cargo crisis.

The delays of containers have dealt a blow to manufacturers and consignors that are heavily dependent on Hanjin for their business.

A total of 256 local consignors have reported their loss due to Hanjin crisis to the Korea International Trade Association, with the damage amount totaling US$111 million.

With key holiday seasons Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, big retailers in the US are doubtful whether their goods will be transported to hit shelves on time.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)