The Ghost Ships of Hanjin and Why They're Spoiling Christmas

Hanjin Shipping Co., South Korea’s biggest container line, is roiling the supply chain for goods such as sneakers and T-shirts from Nike Inc. and Hugo Boss AG, and monitors and home appliances from Samsung Electronics Co. After Hanjin filed for bankruptcy protection, about half its fleet was stranded. The container shipping industry is in the midst of its busiest time of the year, with retailers moving goods for Christmas shopping, which starts in the U.S. around Thanksgiving. About 89 Hanjin ships are stuck at sea without enough money to pay fees to offload their goods. Ports in the U.S., Asia and Europe have turned the ships away.

Apparel, handbags, televisions and washing machines are among goods stranded at sea. Samsung says its home appliance and visual display business divisions had about $38 million of goods stuck in two Hanjin ships in the U.S. and it would have to charter at least 16 planes to transport products if the cargo can’t be offloaded immediately. LG Electronics Inc., the world’s second-largest manufacturer of televisions, is also trying to find new carriers for its goods.