Hanjin has filed for bankruptcy. Here's what you need to know

Hanjin, the seventh largest container shipping company in the world, filed for bankruptcy protection today. After being unable to secure additional funding from creditors today in Seoul, Hanjin's board of directors unanimously voted that the carrier should enter bankruptcy protection to reorganize itself.  By the JOC's estimates, Hanjin is responsible for between 20,000 - 25,000 TEU of capacity on the transpacific trade lane. Here is what we know as of now: Many ports and railroads are allowing importers to pick up Hanjin import containers without payment of storage or demurrage. It is unknown at this time whether or not Hanjin vessels at sea will be turned away from their ports of call upon arrival. Export containers which have been loaded and are at ports and inland depots can be retrieved for shippers to transload their cargo for shipment with other carriers. Carriers who vessel share through alliances with Hanjin have ceased booking their cargo on Hanjin vessels and are monitoring the situation to ensure that their cargo can be recovered and continue shipment without delay. As far as market conditions go, thanks to the more than one million TEU that have been laid up in the global container fleet, remaining carriers have been operating at between 90 - 100% capacity. Everglory is monitoring the situation closely on behalf of our customers. Some of our clients have cargo in transit with Hanjin. For cargo on board vessels, we are in a wait-and-see position for what will happen when those vessels call a port. For clients who have boxes loaded for import or export anywhere in the world that have not yet begun moving, we are working to rebook this cargo and shift it to other carriers as quickly as possible. Prepare for spot rate market increases. The JOC has indicated that effective tomorrow, rates on the Asia - USWC lane should see increases of $600/FEU and $800/FEU to the East Coast, increases of 54% and 50%, respectively, over spot market pricing today. Source: everglorylogistics.com