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Hanjin Shipping declared bankrupt

Months of speculation over the fate for shipping company Hanjin Shipping came to an end on Friday when a South Korean court declared it bankrupt.
Hanjin’s fall from grace from one of the world’s top 10 shipping companies to today has shocked the global cargo movement industry in its speed and finality.
Hanjin’s troubles first emerged in August 2016, when it was revealed that the company had debts of US$5.4 billion ($7 billion) and creditors would not give any more money.
Hanjin – then South Korea’s biggest shipper and number seven in the world – went into receivership and applied for court protection.
At that stage all was not yet lost, with the help of an investor or the South Korean Government, Hanjin could have soldiered on, though no such aid was forthcoming.
The company’s ships were then stranded at sea as ports refused them entry, due to a fear of not getting paid for loading and unloading the cargo.
Over the following months, many of the company’s better assets got sold to other global shipping companies.
The bankrupy court will now handle the liquidation process, selling off Hanjin’s remaining assets and handing the money to the creditors.

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