Shipping

The rear waves of Hanjin

The international shipping crisis, calls for a first great sacrifice: The South Korean shipping company Hanjin. Ships no longer call at ports that Were not deleted. This could also meet German shipowners.

Hanjin is not the only shipping company with problems: “About three-quarters of the world-ship travel are in a difficult Situation,” said Thomas Rehder from the Bureau of the Association of German shipowners on the Maritime trade fair SMM in Hamburg last Monday. This relates to both the container ship travel, as well as Gas and oil Tankers, bulk carriers and the Offshore industry. For over seven years, the shipping industry is now in crisis. It all started with the financial crisis, which led to a decline in global trade.

Shipping under consolidation pressure

Measured in terms of the reduced at the crossing of trade flows, but simply too many ships on the seas. The Problem is compounded by the fact that giants are delivered container ships that were ordered have been boom times. In the face of such Overcapacity, shipowners are trying to low freight their ships rates to fill. Cost of Transport is ensured. In order to reduce the cost per Container, further, the shipowner, but on ever larger ships, which spiral in turn, drives the price further down.

“This is almost a perfect storm,” said Ron van het Hof from the world’s leading credit insurer Euler Hermes. In spite of all the alliances, mergers, and efforts to low cost some shipping companies would write to substantial losses. “That goes for some of the substance, especially if over the long period of ongoing crisis, the buffers are already used up,” said the chief economist of Euler Hermes, Ludovic Subran. “The container shipping industry is faced with its greatest crisis.”

Between January and may of this year, insolvencies in the industry have increased in comparison to the previous year by more than ten percent, shows a sector analysis by Euler Hermes. A the end of this consolidation is not in sight. Now it has caught up with Hanjin one of the ten largest shipowners. At the end of August, the South Korean shipping company had filed for bankruptcy. Hanjin has for five years in the red and is currently carrying a debt of about 4.5 billion euros.

The Hanjin-insolvency consequences

Professor Rolf J. Langhammer

The rear-wheel shaft, the insolvency of Hanjin pulls out, is felt all over the world, but only a little. About three percent of the global container trade is handled by Hanjin. “The company is relatively small,” says Rolf Langhammer from the Kiel Institute for the world economy in Kiel. Limited to certain regions of the shaft, however, provides for unrest. Because Hanjin has a share of about eight percent of the Pacific trade, so the trade between the West coast of the USA and East Asia. And in spite of Overcapacity, other shipping companies could not take on in the short term, this transportation is so easy, says Langhammer.

“According to the freight in the Region, rates are moving upwards, because it is unclear what happens to the ships that now lie on the chain.” The freight rates between the Korean port city of Busan and Los Angeles have increased by 50 percent. “Currently, the demand for transport capacity is much higher than the supply. Companies literally fight to find carriers with capacity,” says Peter Friedmann, Executive Director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition’s shipping industry group.

Long hammer has doubts, however, that the stay that way. “Because, of course, Overcapacity significantly, and we do not expect this year, with a substantial recovery of world trade.” The world trade organisation expects this year to about 2.8 percent growth. This is far below the long-term average of five percent growth and in 2017, it should not be more than 3.6 percent.

Other Charter shipowners affected

The Hanjin-rear shaft also some Charter shipowners are met. In General, the big line shipping companies, about half of their fleet, the rest of the capacity you added to this Charter as needed. Hanjin has only 59 of the 132 ships (container ships and bulk carriers), the other 73 are rented. Among German ship owners, who now face default. “Many of the chartered vessels will be returned to the owner,” said Van het Hof of Euler Hermes. “The triggers a chain reaction and hits especially for the smaller shipowners hard.” Given the Overcapacity, it is not easy to rent the ships.

Hanjin should not be part of the new shipping group “THE Alliance” (Start April 2017). The leader of the German Hapag-Lloyd.

Be taken, of course, the owner of the Goods ships to Hanjin. Goods to the value of $ 14 billion will not be delivered worldwide, because currently, ports, tugboats, and commercial firms refuse to work for Hanjin. Terminal operators require thousands of dollars, before the Goods of Hanjin ships are deleted. The trading partners are not willing to pay for the part, so that food spoil and not to scare away customers, the demand of the goods. Normally, Hanjin would assume the port charges and the cost for the container transport as a part of its freight charges.

Last week, the first Samsung defendant, Goods to the value of 38 million dollars on Board of two Hanjin vessels were. If the Goods were not discharged as quickly as possible, should Samsung could Charter 16 aircraft to transport these Goods, what about the eight million Dollar cost of the group.

Bankruptcy -> Bankruptcy?

As it goes further depends primarily on whether the bankruptcy is a bankruptcy, says Rolf Langhammer in an interview with DW. “Hanjin has introduced the bankruptcy also, according to the American bankruptcy law legally. That is, it is, of course, ultimately, the traffic afterwards.” If this happens to you, hanging in the first place, whether it be after a Declaration of Insolvency the insolvency administrator sufficient mass looks to have the business continue, and whether the financiers were willing to put more on this shipping company.

However, the long-hammer indicates that, in the container ship travel very much confidence in the reliability of the line services, there ought to be. And if a shipping company is advised in such a wrong situation, then that trust is gone. “Therefore, it may not be, of course, that Hanjin is back in the market. But you can’t estimate the time yet.”

After a court in Seoul had agreed in the past week, the application Hanjins on insolvency administration, Hanjin-Manager to 25. November time, a new rescue plan.