Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
economist.com
Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
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Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#2> In late August, Hanjin Shipping, South Korea’s biggest container line and the world’s seventh-largest, filed for receivership. Some 66 of its ships, loaded with $14.5 billion of goods, including quantities of electronics heading for America, were left stranded at sea. Ports around the world did not want to let Hanjin’s vessels dock because the bankrupt line had no money to pay unloading fees.
Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#3hmm 14.5 billion, 270 million in fees. Math isn't hard here.
Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#4hmm 14.5 billion, 270 million in fees. Math isn't hard here.
Hanjin doesn't own the goods; they're just transporting them. The owners of the goods are also by now creditors of the bankrupt company (for late fees if nothing else). That's why it's a snarl.
Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#5Huh. For some reason I thought cargoes had bonds that would allow them to make port and unload.
OTOH, some enterprising sailors could make some money relieving stranded ships of their contents.
Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#6This seems like a really good sign. We can only hope global shipping continues to shrink until we can get down to a level of consumer purchasing that is sustainable for the ecology of the planet.
Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#7hmm 14.5 billion, 270 million in fees. Math isn't hard here.
Hanjin doesn't own the goods; they're just transporting them. The owners of the goods are also by now creditors of the bankrupt company (for late fees if nothing else). That's why it's a snarl.
Wonder if it'd be feasible and/or make sense for the owners of the goods to pool their money together in order to pay the docking fees so they could receive their goods.
Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#8It'll be interesting to see this play out. If the bankrupt company is unwilling or unable to unload their cargo, could another company start repossessing the ships? I'd imagine it would have to on the behalf of several companies; likely, the most heavily invested insurance companies act as a group.
Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#9Huh. For some reason I thought cargoes had bonds that would allow them to make port and unload. OTOH, some enterprising sailors could make some money relieving stranded ships of their contents.
These ships would be incredibly expensive and slow to unload at sea. Container shipping is very dependent on dock-side infrastructure.
One of the reasons why shipping switched to containers (and away from break-bulk) is precisely because it is difficult to steal from containers.
Re: Why billions of dollars of goods are stuck at sea
#10Huh. For some reason I thought cargoes had bonds that would allow them to make port and unload. OTOH, some enterprising sailors could make some money relieving stranded ships of their contents.
Probably some cargo has bonds and other cargo does not...even on the same ship. While just about anything from the delivery of a container full of Pokemon to the water tightness a new metal roof for the next twenty years can be bonded, it will only get bonded if someone is willing to pay the cost of bonding.
It is common for businesses to assess risks and forgo adding the cost of bonding to a contractual transaction.