German bank to take six Hanjin ships, recharter them to Maersk

In addition to the six 13,010-TEU Hanjin Shipping vessels to be chartered to Maersk Line, a group led by HSH Nordbank could also acquire another three ships and lease them out to Maersk’s 2M Alliance partner MSC, according to multiple media reports.    German bank HSH Nordbank could take back as many as nine containerships from the now insolvent South Korean ocean carrier Hanjin Shipping and recharter them to 2M Alliance members Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC).
   The state-backed bank said in a statement Thursday it will take possession of six 13,010-TEU vessels previously operated by Hanjin and charter them out to Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping line.
   In addition, HSH is also working with a group that would acquire another three ships and lease them out to Maersk’s 2M Alliance partner MSC, according to multiple media reports.
   “The chartering of the container ships by Maersk Line means that, in a difficult setting, these ships have been given a long-term perspective following the insolvency of Hanjin,” said Ulrik Lackschewitz, chief risk officer at HSH Nordbank, which was part of a consortium of banks that financed Hanjin ships. “In Maersk Line, we have a strong partner at our side for this transaction.”
   Meanwhile, a “source involved in the transaction” told Reuters news service HSH has separately arranged with three other banks to charter an additional three vessels to the second largest container carrier MSC.
   Hanjin has been dismantling its operations in the past few weeks as part of its court receivership proceedings in Korea, which were initiated on Aug. 31, and represent the largest carrier bankruptcy in industry history.
   Although they are still fierce competitors, Maersk and MSC operate a network of shared container services in the Asia-Europe, transpacific and transatlantic trades under the 2M Alliance name.