Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy causes turmoil in global sea freight

[Recursion]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/02/hanjin-shipping-bankruptcy-causes-turmoil-in-global-sea-freight

I know I'm a global shipping nerd, but: I seriously can't stress the potential importance of this story.

The bankruptcy of the Hanjin shipping line has thrown ports and retailers around the world into confusion, with giant container ships marooned and merchants worrying whether hundreds of tonnes of goods being carried by the South Korean company will reach shelves.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday and stopped accepting new cargo. With its assets frozen, ships were refused permission to offload or take aboard containers because there were no guarantees that tugboat pilots or stevedores would be paid.

Hanjin is the world’s seventh-largest container shipper and the news left cargo headed to and from Asia in limbo. There were reports that some Hanjin ships had been seized in China on behalf of creditors.

Seeking to contain the fallout, a South Korean court said it would begin proceedings to rehabilitate the carrier – which would allow Hanjin to take legal action in other countries to keep its ships and other assets from being seized.

[Warpy]

1. BBC yesterday had an article that pointed out

that if things aren't settled quickly, this will put a dent in the main shopping season of the year in the west as goods remain on ships anchored offshore, no way to offload them.

[elleng]

2. Nerd or not, it's an important story.

[Thinkingabout]

3. Interesting, hopefully they can get their issues settled.

I am familiar with some of their office workers.

[T_i_B]

9. Same here

I found Hanjin better to deal with then a few other shipping lines I could name.

[Wies Acres]

4. I saw this on the net yesterday.I was shocked to read it.

Hanjin is not a mere fly speck,they are a huge sea freight company.This could really cause some serious trouble.Imagine being crew members,and not being able to get off the ship?

Wow.

[Exilednight]

5. This is nothing to really worry about.

The creditors want their money, and the longer they sit offshore, the more money their creditors are losing.

They want this sorted out quickly and cleanly, and there are two options for them to get the best deal possible. This will end quicker than most people think, and WalMart will get their 60" HD TV for $399 in plenty of time for Black Friday

[msongs]

6. if we cant get all that foreign made stuff maybe we can buy made-in-america stuff eh? nt

[gratuitous]

7. Interesting; Hanjin pulled out of Portland slightly more than a year ago

I wonder if the Port of Portland got the real story when it lost Hanjin's business? I also wonder what effect Hanjin's bankruptcy might have on the TPP? South Korea wasn't involved in the original TPP negotiations, but they've been interested in joining the TPP in recent years. What would be the effect of a major shipper's bankruptcy under the TPP? Could it sue participating nations for not using them enough, or making their business profitable enough to survive?

Yeah, this is a big fucking deal when a major shipping player in the Pacific goes down.

[T_i_B]

10. The one thing that needs agreeing between nations in this instance

is common rules on bankruptcy. Not an easy or pleasant thing, but nessessary, because it's not just small businesses that go bang.

[2naSalit]

8. Might change the dynamics of

the holiday shopping season in a potentially beneficial way. I mean that by not having all that "stuff" to buy, perhaps some will start to see the down side of rampant consumerism and good things actually come of it.