A US judge ordered Hanjin Shipping to refrain from sailing its vessels away from the US as he sorts out claims by creditors asserting rights to arrest vessels.
US Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood of the US federal court in Newark, New Jersey, issued the order during a Tuesday hearing to consider the South Korean operator’s Chapter 15 bankruptcy filing.
Lawyers estimate that there are some 15 Hanjin-owned and chartered containerships lingering off the US coast, some outside of range of the federal marshals that carry out vessel arrest orders. Sherwood’s order keeps the vessels in place at least until he considers the matter at another hearing on Friday.
Freeze sought
He was considering a proposed order by Hanjin’s lawyers at New Jersey law firm Cole Schotz aimed at putting a freeze on litigation against the shipowner in a case that ultimately seeks US recognition of proceedings in South Korea.
A provisional freeze on litigation “is critical to the prevention of irreparable damage to Hanjin’s reorganization proceeding in Korea,” wrote lawyer Ilana Volkov.
But Simms Showers lawyer Stephen Simms, who is representing several bunkers suppliers, tug owners and container lessors, urged Sherwood to safeguard his clients’ maritime liens against Hanjin ships by ensuring that his order does not allow the ship operator to take vessels to jurisdictions where the US protections would not apply.
Protecting security
“That wipes out our security entirely,” he said.
As TradeWinds has reported extensively, Hanjin filed for court-supervised restructuring in Seoul with some KRW 6.03 trillion ($5.04bn) in total liabilities and KRW 6.62 trillion in assets.
