Hanjin Shipping is to receive as much as US$100m in additional funds to resolve the cargo crisis caused by its bankruptcy, reports The Japan Times.
Hanjin’s lead creditor, Korea Development Bank, yesterday (22 September) said it would offer a credit line of 50 billion won (US$45m) to help the shipper unload cargo stranded offshore.
The announcement comes a day after Korean Air Lines’ board approved a 60 billion won loan to the troubled ocean shipping line, The Japan Times said.
Korean Air and Hanjin Shipping are part of Hanjin Group, one of the largest business conglomerates in South Korea. Chairman Cho Yang-ho and former Hanjin Shipping Chairman Choi Eun-young earlier contributed a combined US$44.6m from their personal wealth to pay for unloading cargo on Hanjin’s container ships, the report said.
The state-owned bank said its credit line will be used only when other available funds from Hanjin Shipping, Korean Air, the company officials and others are used up.
Even with the help of the bank, it was not clear if the new funds would be enough to solve the cargo crisis, The Japan Times said.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency cited a South Korean court as saying that Hanjin Shipping needs 173 billion won to unload cargo at ports. Including fees for transporting cargo to final destinations, the company needs 270 billion won, Yonhap said.
Dozens of ships around the world have remained stranded for nearly a month since Hanjin’s 31 August bankruptcy filing because it couldn’t cover fuel bills or guarantee payment to dockworkers.
