Korea Line to pay $31.5m for certain Hanjin assets

The deal, which involves Hanjin’s Asia-U.S. assets, does not include Hanjin’s five, 6,500-TEU containerships or Hanjin’s 54 percent stake in Total Terminals International at the Port of Long Beach, according to several media reports.    Hanjin Shipping is selling parts of its container shipping business, including its transpacific service between Asia and the United States, along with related assets, to bulk shipping operator Korea Line Corp. for 37 billion won (U.S. $31.5 million).
   A Hanjin spokesperson said the company was “not in the position to reveal any details on the on going contract” and referred American Shipper to a Yonhap News Agency article that said the sale will be completed Jan. 5 and will include business and related customer management and operation information; and subsidiaries and logistics management systems in the U.S., China, Vietnam and four other countries.
   The sale did not include Hanjin’s 54 percent stake in Total Terminals International at the Port of Long Beach, and overall, 574 of Hanjin’s employees will begin working for Korea Line, according to Yonhap.
   Pulse News, a website affiliated with Maeil Business News Korea, said Korea Line was given the option to purchase the terminal and five, 6,500-TEU containerships.
   Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal said it was told by a Korea Line spokesman that his company “will have further talks with Hanjin” about the terminal and five containerships.
   Korea Line will be a newcomer to the container business. Today, it has a fleet of 29 ships – 19 bulkers, eight gas carriers, one tanker and one pure car/truck carrier, according to its website. It has taken delivery of six vessels this year. For 63 percent of its business, Korea Line acts as a dedicated carrier for some of Korea’s biggest companies – the steelmaker POSCO (formerly known as Pohang Iron and Steel Co.), Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), and Hyundai Glovis, the logistics affiliate of Hyundai Motors.
   The Korea Herald reported in September that Samra Midas owns nearly 75 percent of Samsun Logix, another bulk shipping company that filed for bankruptcy in 2015.