Korea’s Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) will be the first to take its pick of fellow Korean shipping company Hanjin’s vessels, which could sell for around US$90m each, reports Reuters.
HMM is reportedly looking at Hanjin’s largest container ships, though there are doubts as to where HMM will find the funds to purchase the ships as it faces US$6.2bn of its own debt.
Since Hanjin Shipping filed for bankruptcy in August, the Korean shipping line has faced issues unloading cargo, with an estimated US$14bn of cargo still stranded around the world.
Reuters has said the Korean government will back HMM’s purchase of the Hanjin shipping vessels, though will not put any more funds into Hanjin except to unload Hanjin’s stranded vessels.
Hanjin’s largest shareholder, Korean Air Lines, has also said it will lend US$53.96m to help unload cargo.
