No More Seizure

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on Oct. 10 that no additional provisional seizures of Hanjin vessels will take place at home and abroad.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on Oct. 10 that no additional provisional seizures of Hanjin vessels will take place at home and abroad.

 

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that no additional provisional seizures of Hanjin vessels will take place at ports subject to stay orders at home and abroad. 

“I do not expect additional seizures to take place,” said Yun Hak-bae, vice minister of oceans and fisheries in a meeting with reporters in the government’s Sejong Building on October 10.  

“Bareboat charter hire purchase (BBCHP) vessels are treated as national flag carriers,” vice minister Yun said. “The Changwon District Court allowed a provisional seizure. This was a different interpretation of a related law,” the vice minister added. “As the legal affairs team of Hanjin Shipping is dealing with this, the same thing will not happen again.”

On October 7, the Changwon District Court accepted a voluntary auction of the Hanjin Xiamen applied for by the US and Singaporean corporations of World Fuel Services, a fuel distribution company.  To auction off a ship, the ship must be prohibited from moving. This made the court ruling a virtual provisional seizure.  This was the first time for a Hanjin Shipping vessel to be provisionally seized in Korea with stay orders for Hanjin Shipping ships in Korea.

The Hanjin Xiamen belongs to a special purpose company (SPC) which Hanjin Shipping founded in Panama. The ship is a BBHCP ship leased by Hanjin Shipping. The company is running 34 containerships and 20 bulk ships as BBHCP vessels.  

Accordingly, Hanjin Shipping filed a formal objection to the Changwon District Court in the afternoon of the day. “33 of 97 container ships have not finished unloading cargoes. Among the 33 ships, two to three units are subject to vicious provisional seizures and their provisional seizures can be lifted when arrears before the company’s court receivership are paid off,” vice minister Yun said. “Remaining vessels except for such cases will address unloading problems by the end of this month.”

“As an MOU between Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and 2M is a private contract, it is difficult to say whether or not the MOU is legally binding,” vice minister Yun said about HMM’s joining the 2M, a global shipping alliance. “But I expect HMM will sign the main agreement between late this month and early November.”  

 

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