For more than a week, dozens of container ships operated by Hanjin Shipping have been stranded at sea after the company’s sudden bankruptcy filing, delaying deliveries for goods just as retailers are stocking up for the holiday shopping season. Now Samsung is asking a judge for help to get its stuff out of Hanjin’s hands.
A number of Hanjin ships have remained at sea out of fear that creditors would try to seize the ships if they headed into port. Earlier this week, a U.S. bankruptcy court said that ships could dock in the U.S. without being seized, for now, but even those vessels that make to U.S. docks may not be able to pay for unloading cargo.
Reuters reports that Samsung has asked the court if it can pay cargo handlers to get its containers off the Hanjin ships. The electronics giant, which has had to scurry to find a new shipping partner after Hanjin’s late-August collapse, argues that companies with goods on the stranded ships should be allowed to step up and pay for removing the cargo.
“There’s no earthly reason why these parties should not be permitted to cut their own deals,” wrote Samsung in a court filing.
Container terminal operators agree that cargo owners should be able to intervene and pay the unloading fees, but — as creditors of Hanjin — also believe that the ships themselves should not be shielded from seizure. They contend that allowing the ships to dock without either a guarantee of payment or the possibility of seizure leaves terminal operators in a situation of being compelled to provide services for free.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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