The collapse of South Korea's Hanjin Shipping has upset global trade as the nation's largest port turned away the company's ships leaving manufacturers scrambling for alternatives. Hanjin filed for court protection on 31 August after its banks ended their financial support, resulting in ports from China to Spain, the US and Canada refusing to allow entry to Hanjin's vessels. A Hanjin bankruptcy would be the industry's largest ever in terms of capacity, according to consultancy Alphaliner, exceeding the 1986 collapse of United States Lines. In a statement released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, it said that "due to the current economic situation, we have decided not to accept any more shipments from Hanjin". Home appliances, unlike mobile phones and semiconductors, are shipped by sea, leaving one official to note that "this will have an impact on the entire industry. " The South Korean ministry has called on local rival Hyundai Merchant Marine to help out, however, as we have previously noted, it too is under voluntary debt restructuring.
The collapse of South Korea's Hanjin Shipping has upset global trade as the nation's largest port turned away the company's ships leaving manufacturers scrambling for alternatives. Hanjin filed for court protection on 31 August after its banks ended their financial support, resulting in ports from China to Spain, the US and Canada refusing to allow entry to Hanjin's vessels. In a statement released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, it said that "due to the current economic situation, we have decided not to accept any more shipments from Hanjin". Home appliances, unlike mobile phones and semiconductors, are shipped by sea, leaving one official to note that "this will have an impact on the entire industry. " The South Korean ministry has called on local rival Hyundai Merchant Marine to help out, however, as we have previously noted, it too is under voluntary debt restructuring.