South Korean firm Hanjin Shipping filed for U.S Bankruptcy protection and it has become a logistics nightmare for many companies that trusted Hanjin the shipping of their goods.
That’s the case of two of the most important companies in technology: Hewlett-Packard Company and Samsung Electronics Co . Both enterprises are having a difficult time because their cargo is still on Hanjin’s vessels and can’t get unloaded at the port.
According to the company’s information, there are 85 Hanjin vessels stranded around 50 ports in 26 countries.
In the Long Beach coast, two vessels are stranded with 304 containers in which travels $24.5 million in Samsung cargo. Another $13.5 million are in 312 shipping containers with refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers waiting to get unloaded.
“It is vital to Samsung’s and U.S. retailers’ interests to avoid major disruptions in production,” particularly ahead of the holiday shopping season, said the company in a court filing supporting Hanjin’s Chapter 15 U.S. Bankruptcy Court petition.
HP has its products in 500 containers carrying $10 million in products with destination to several U.S ports.
With back Friday and Christmas season coming soon, this interruption in the distribution dynamic could bring serious consequences for both technology companies. Robert Feinstein, HP lawyer said that if the issues aren’t worked out soon, it would result in a “cataclysmic event for customers.”
For now, Hanjin’s lawyer Ilana Volkov said: “All we can do is assure that the company is working around the clock to raise the financing to pay people and to start moving the cargo and to do what’s necessary for our customers.”
HP and Samsung are just two of the many other companies that appeared in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday to support the necessary measures to get the ships into the ports.
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