WASHINGTON — The parent company of South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. said Tuesday that it would raise and spend about $90 million to try to ease a cargo crisis at ports around the world caused by Hanjin’s filing for bankruptcy protection.
Media reports from Seoul said Hanjin Group would raise 60 billion won, using assets including a stake in a terminal at the Port of Long Beach near Los Angeles as collateral.
Hanjin Shipping, the world’s seventh-largest container carrier, owns a majority stake in Total Terminals International, which operates Long Beach’s largest terminal.
An additional 40 billion won would personally come from Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-Ho.
The money — which amounts to about $90 million — would be used to pay to unload cargo from ships stranded in and near ports around the world.
The goal is to “normalize” operations by Hanjin Shipping and “minimize damages on export companies,” according to a statement from Hanjin Group.
Hanjin Shipping accounted for about 4 percent of container cargo imported to the Port of Los Angeles and 12 percent of container cargo to the Port of Long Beach during the first six months of the year, according to Datamyne, which tracks import-export transactions in the Americas.
Southern California officials are worried that last week’s bankruptcy filing by Hanjin Shipping could threaten local union workers’ jobs and retailers’ access to imported goods as the holiday season approaches.
The company has been hurt by a slowdown in global trade.
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners said Sunday that its members were monitoring the Hanjin situation around the clock to try to ensure the smooth flow of cargo.
