Maersk Line is expecting minimal impact after the latest Hanjin Shipping developments, but shippers with goods blocked in ports are more worried about the situation.
The Danish conglomerate has minor business relations with the South Korean company.
Notably, the two parties have a vessel sharing agreement on the route between northeast Asia and the east coast of India, served by six vessels.
'Limited disruption'
Maersk Line said in an e-mail to TradeWinds: "We expect limited disruption to the operations of the six vessels deployed here.
"We have stopped cargo bookings on Hanjin owned vessels and will continue to monitor the situation."
As many other owners, Maersk could step into the gap left by Hanjin’s woes.
The company said it was being approached by many customers who ask for alternative solutions for their cargo.
Shippers worried
But shippers are much more concerned as they see their goods frozen in ports.
As Hanjin-owned vessels could face difficulties when trying to approach ports all over the world, shippers’ problems would not end even if containers were finally offloaded.
An executive from the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) told TradeWinds that in Antwerp and Rotterdam goods have been blocked and shippers are asked to pay around EUR 1,000 ($1,116) per container.
The local ESC branch in Netherlands is preparing to take legal action against the detention of goods by terminal operators, he added.
CKYHE suspension
Meanwhile, Hanjin Shipping has been suspended from the CKYHE Alliance amid the continuing drama over
A spokesman for the South Korean liner operator, whose court-supervised restructuring, was approved Thursday, confirmed the alliance membership suspension in a Reuters report.
TradeWinds reported yesterday that Taiwan’s Evergreen has already said that it would not put any of its cargoes on Hanjin vessels or accept Hanjin cargoes on Evergreen ships.
The alliance also includes Coscocs of China, Yang Mine Marine Transport of Taiwan and Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line).
