Tagged: STX Pan Ocean
KMTC suspends one South Korea – Vietnam service
The Korean intra-Asia specialist carrier KMTC has closed its ‘KHX’ South Korea to Vietnam service.
The loop which called at Shanghai, Busan, Kwangyang, Haiphong, Xiamen and Shanghai, was shut down this week in what appears to be aftershocks of the recent STX PanOcean insolvency.
STX PanOcean used to be active on several small-scale and medium-sized Korea to Vietnam services, where (depending upon the individual service) it operated alongside its compatriots Hanjin, Heung-A, Sinokor and KMTC.
The recent withdrawal of a number of STX-operated charter ships, has now forced some streamlining and consolidation of these services and thus lead to the closure of the ‘KHX’.
One of the two ships that used to trade on the closed ‘KHX’, formerly on charter to STX PanOcean, is now idle at port Incheon. The other ‘KHX’-vessel was contributed by KMTC and has since ben re-deployed within the carrier’s network.
From a KMTC perspective, the Korea to Vietnam trade remains covered by seven services.
On at least two Korea to Vietnam services, Hanjin has stepped up its involvement and replaced withdrawn STX PanOcean vessels with Hanjin-operated ships.
South Korea’s STX Pan Ocean files for receivership and defaults on bonds
Despite all attempts, the financially striken STX Pan Ocean has failed to obtain emergency funds from the Korea Development Bank, its main creditor. Subsequently, the company filed for court receivership on Friday 7 June and declared default on a series of 7 public corporate bonds listed on the Korean Stock Exchange (KRX), with a total balance of public bonds of close to USD 1bn.
According to information provided in a regulatory filing to the Korean Stock Exchange (KRX), the Seoul Central District Court will now perform a review of the application and relevant materials and decide whether to commence a company reorganization.
STX Pan Ocean is best known as one of the largest bulker operators in the world and as an operator of major shipyards. In addition, the company is also active in the field of tankers, liquified natural gas carriers, car transporters and container vessels. With a fleet of 25 small and mid-sized boxships, of which seven are owned, STC presently ranks 30th among the world’s container lines in term of teu slots.
The most recent addition to the carrier’s fleet of cellular ships was the STX HONG KONG, delivered in May by Guangzhou Wenching Shipyard. A sister of the ship, to be named STX HO CHI MINH, is slated for delivery later this year. STX is believed to seek buyers for the pair, as well for a number of other ships it owns.
Since most of STX mid-sized container vessels are on short-term sportmarket charters, many of these ships are expected to be returned no later than at the expiry of their current contracts. The only long-term chartered vessels in STX Pan Ocean’s fleet is a quartet of 4,400 teu ships built by Hyundai Samho between 2010 and 2012 and chartered by the Koreans for ten-year periods from the Greek non-operating owner Dioryx Maritime.
Hyundai Samho delivers HANJIN MAR (4,530 teu) – last of baby-overpanamax trio
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries this week delivered the 4,530 teu wide-beam vessel HANJIN MAR. The ship is the last of three sisters which Seoul-based HI Investment & Securities ordered from the yard in mid-2011. The orders were placed on the back of seven-year charters to Hanjin.
In addition to the three ships from Hyundai Samho that Hanjin is to receive via HI Investment, the Korean carrier furthermore directly ordered three ships of roughly similar capacity from Samsung Heavy Industries.
The new compact wide-beam vessels will most likely replace a series of +4,000 teu panamaxes which Hanjin received throughout the 1990ies and of which the carrier already offloaded some units by means of sale and charter back deals or straight recycling sales.
The HANJIN MAR begins her active service on the ‘CKA’ China Korea Australia service which Hanjin jointly operates alongside Yang Ming, STX Pan Ocean, Sinotrans and Heung-A. She follows one month after the HANJIN MARINE, delivered in May, which trades on the same service. The HANJIN MAR replaced the panamax-beam 4,253 teu HANJIN DÜSSELDORF which moves to the Hanjin- and Coscon-operated CKYH Far East – Panama – USEC loop ‘AWS’/’AW7’.
Nam Sung adds Jakarta through slots
Effective 15 June, Korean carrier Nam Sung will take slots on the Korea – Indonesia ‘PJX’ service, that fellow Korean operators Sinokor, Heung-A and STX PanOcean opened at the end of March.
The ‘PJX’ turns in three weeks and calls at: Kwangyang, Busan, Ulsan, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Kwangyang. Hong Kong’s TS Lines already started to take slots on the ‘PJX’ in May.
Each of the loop’s three operators presently contributes one ship to the joint fleet. STX Pan Ocean and Heung-A supply the Wenchong 1,740 teu sisters STX HONG KONG and HANSA FRESENBURG, while Sinokor contributes the German-built 1,512 teu ship SAWASDEE LAEM CHABANG.
Far East-Australia: TS Lines joins multi-carrier group on ‘CKA’ after ‘CAX’ closure
Following the closure of the ‘CAX’ China-Australia loop, a service jointly offered by TS Lines of Hong Kong and the Chinese carrier Hainan PO Shipping, TS will join the multicolored carrier group that operates the ‘CKA’ China-Korea-Australia service.
The weekly ‘CAX’ service was launched by TS Lines and Hainan PO in 2010 and it turned in 35 days with a fleet of five ships. Originally, the service was run with ships in the size range of 2,500 to 2,800 teu. After about one year, it was upgraded to a homogenous fleet of 3,500 teu ships. The loop’s port rotation remained unchanged from day one and called at Ningbo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shekou, Botany Bay (Sydney), Melbourne, Brisbane, Ningbo. Earlier this year, it was decided that the ‘CAX’ be closed and the last vessels phased out at the end of March.
Following the closure of the ‘CAX’, TS Lines joined a multi-carrier group on the ‘CKA’ China-Korea-Australia service. This loop is operated by Hanjin, STX Pan Ocean and Sinotrans as vessel providers and now also TS Lines. Additionally, Heung-A and Regional Container Lines take slots.
TS recently chartered the 5,026 teu E.R. DALLAS from German non-operating owners Blue Star / E.R. Schiffahrt as its contribution to the ‘CKA’. The maxi-panamax vessel is not only the largest ship on the service, which is otherwise operated with ships of 4,200 to 4,400 teu, but also by far the largest ship operated by TS Lines.
The E.R. DALLAS actually did not replace a ship on the ‘CKA’, but joined the service as an additional vessel. While the port rotation has remained unchanged, the ‘CKA’s round trip sailing time was extended by one week from 35 days to 42 days, introducing an additional element of slow steaming.
The service presently turns on the following rotation: Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Kaohsiung, Melbourne, Botany Bay (Sydney), Brisbane, Busan.
All carriers deploy panamax-beam vessels on the loop, whith the recent exception of Hanjin, which replaced its two 261m panamaxes HANJIN MILANO and HANJIN DUSSELDORF with modern baby-overpanamax ships of 249m x 38m, the HANJIN MAR and HANJIN MARINE.
STX HONG KONG (1,740 teu) delivered
South Korea’s STX Pan Ocean has taken delivery of the 1,740 teu vessel STX HONG KONG. The ship is one of about 70 Guangzhou Wenchong 1700 standard type vessels built over the last 13 years and it is one of the very few units of this type that the Chinese yard built in a gearless configuration.
In a few days, the 175.50m long and eleven-row wide ship will phase into the ‘PJX’ Pusan Jakarta Express service, jointly offered by STX Pan Ocean, Heung-A and Sinokor, where she replaces the chartered 1,550 teu vessel HANSA LANGELAND. STX will then most likely return the smaller ship to her owners.
The ‘PJX’ service rotates in 21 days and it deploys a fleet of three vessels to maintain weekly departures. Each of the participating carriers contributes one ship.
HANJIN MARINE (4,530 teu) delivered
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries this week delivered the 4,530 teu wide-beam vessel HANJIN MARINE. The ship is the second of three sisters which Seoul-based HI Investment & Securities ordered from the yard in mid-2011. The orders were placed on the back of a seven-year charter to Hanjin.
In addition to the three ships from Hyundai Samho that Hanjin is to receive via HI Investment, the Korean carrier furthermore directly ordered three ships of roughly similar capacity from Samsung Heavy Industries.
The new compact wide-beam vessels will most likely replace a series of +4,000 teu panamaxes which Hanjin received throughout the 1990ies and of which the carrier already offloaded some units by means of sale and charter back deals or straightaway recycling sales.
The HANJIN MARINE begins her active service on the ‘CKA’ China Korea Australia service which Hanjin jointly operates alongside Yang Ming, STX Pan Ocean, Sinotrans and Heung-A. She follows four months after the HANJIN AQUA, delivered in January.
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