European Shippers’ Council: Let Hanjin containers go

The trade organization has called on terminals that are currently holding containers because of Hanjin’s financial troubles to release those containers immediately.    The European Shippers’ Council (ESC) is calling on terminals that are currently holding containers because of Hanjin’s financial troubles to release those containers immediately.
   “The stationary containers now hinder the global flow of goods,” ESC said. The trade organization said it will work with the Global Shippers’ Alliance (GSA) – the group it formed last year with the Asian Shippers’ Association (ASA) and the Washington, D.C.-based American Association of Exporters and Importers – “to find a swift solution.”
   Meanwhile, Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said that on Monday, a government task force on the Hanjin-related logistics crisis, said the ocean carrier’s vessels will be directed to selected offshore ports where safe freight unloading can be guaranteed without any fear of vessel seizures.
   “There are ports that have issued stay orders or guaranteed protection so that cargo can be safely offloaded there,” Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is co-head of the task force said.
   The story mentioned the ports of Singapore, Hamburg and Los Angeles, though it was unclear whether the U.S. port might actually be Long Beach where a number of politicians and labor leaders held a press conference yesterday asking for the federal government to help get the Total Terminals International terminal in Long Beach, which is partially owned by Hanjin, operating again.
   Yonhap added that Choi said ships cruising in the waters of Northeast Asia will be directed to the South Korean ports of Busan and Gwangyang.
   ESC said, “The containers held by terminals worries businesses throughout the world, as they hamper trade flows between businesses and their global commercial partners. For example, businesses’ logistical planning will be complicated by unexpected delays, which will cause longer lead times.
   “GSA, which represents the logistics interests of manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers from Asia, the European Union and the United States, has called upon all terminals that currently hold containers to release them as soon as possible. The alliance will speak with the terminals in order to come to a solution as soon as possible.”
   ESC asked companies to contact them if their supply chain is hindered by Hanjin’s problems.
   The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL), the largest shipper group in the U.S., last week urged “members with cargo on Hanjin Shipping vessels to contact their insurance companies and attorneys” after Hanjin began rehabilitation proceedings in South Korea.
   Don Pisano, chairman of NITL’s ocean transportation committee, said the impact of Hanjin’s insolvency would be felt throughout the shipping industry and encouraged members of the NITL to protect their interests.
   “With 98 container ships operating in 74 routes in the liner trade, along with marine terminals and bulk operations, even those that have never shipped with Hanjin may feel the effects as services are disrupted and capacity tightened further,” he wrote.