Domestic exporters and importers whose goods are on board ships of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd have been on tenterhooks since the South Korean container shipper filed for bankruptcy protection.

Exporters and importers are concerned that their merchandise shipments would be stuck on Hanjin’s container ships worldwide as the company’s ships would be held at ports as collateral for its unpaid bills.

A number of ports including those in China and Spain have refused to let Hanjin Shopping’s ships dock, fearing that the company cannot foot its bills, according to logistics firms in HCMC.

The bankruptcy filing comes after creditor banks decided to end financial support for the top container shipper of South Korea.

Hanjin Shipping, the world’s seventh largest shipping line by capacity, is one of the first shipping companies investing in port infrastructure facilities in Vietnam.

Previously, Hanjin had an over 20% stake in Tan Cang-Cai Mep International Terminal in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. However, the firm sold its entire stake to Hanjin Transportation earlier this year.

Hanjin Shipping joined hands with local and foreign partners to develop Cai Mep specialized terminal and launched sea routes linking Vietnam and other markets years ago, serving many Vietnamese firms.

As reported by international media, Korea Development Bank (KDB), which is the main creditor of Hanjin Shipping, announced to cut its financial support for the company on August 30, one day before the company filed for bankruptcy at a court in Seoul.

Hanjin Shipping’s financial report showed its debt had been around US$5 billion by the end of 2015. Also last year, the company wrote to its creditors including KDB requesting debt restructuring and assistance to deal with reductions in its assets and ship lease fees.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a South Korean court will decide if Hanjin Shipping is dissolved or gets a chance to restructure.

The representative office of Hanjin Shipping in Vietnam announced the container carrier had stopped taking new cargo in this market, leaving a possible impact on import and export goods of enterprises.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade called for enterprises to quickly complete procedures for customs clearance of their import goods in Hanjin’s containers at ports in Vietnam and take out export goods which have been loaded onto the company’s containers.

For goods which are now on Hanjin Shipping’s vessels, the ministry urged the exporters to work with the representative office of the company and their importers to seek appropriate solutions for the parties involved.

SGT