Shipping firm gets more funds in effort to resolve cargo crisis

SEOUL — Hanjin Shipping is to receive as much as $100 million US in additional funds to resolve the cargo crisis caused by its slide toward bankruptcy.

Hanjin’s lead creditor, Korea Development Bank, said Thursday it will offer a credit line of $45 million US to help the shipper unload cargo stranded offshore. The announcement comes a day after Korean Air Lines’ board approved a $54-million US loan to the troubled ocean shipping line. 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 chair Choi Eun-young have contributed a combined $44.6 million US from their personal wealth to pay for unloading cargo on Hanjin’s container ships.

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.

News reports cited a South Korean court as saying Hanjin Shipping needs $157 million US to unload cargo at ports. Including fees for transporting cargo to final destinations, the company needs $245 million US.

Dozens of ships around the world have remained stranded for nearly a month since Hanjin’s Aug. 31 bankruptcy filing because it couldn’t cover fuel bills or guarantee payment to dockworkers and others.