Alphaliner: Another major shipping bankruptcy unlikely in near-term

Following Hanjin Shipping’s demise, another bankruptcy of a major container shipping line is unlikely in the near future according to Alphaliner, which believes industry stakeholders will learn to stave off a similarly disastrous result.

Speaking at the Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference (ALMC), Tan Hua Joo, executive consultant at Alphaliner, blamed governmental blunders for Hanjin’s fall, while opining that state intervention would only “serve to prolong” the market downturn.

Hanjin’s collapse “gave a very good lesson on how not to handle a debt restructuring exercise,” said Tan. “I think there was also a complete misunderstanding on the part of the foreign creditors on what is driving the Korean domestic and political situation.