Dive Brief:

• The number of empty Hanjin containers in Southern California will lessen this week when a Hanjin vessel arrives in Long Beach to retrieve roughly 4,300 empties, the Journal of Commerce reported last week. 
• The forced-idle chassis upon which the containers sat will then be available to companies needing to move merchandise in and out of the port.
• Port of Long Beach officials expect the pickup to begin soon. Total Terminals International (TTI), which is 54% owned by Hanjin, will load containers onto the ship at cost and the port has agreed to waive wharfage fees, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Dive Insight:

From cargo stuck on board to back pay owed to countless longshoremen and others, Hanjin's bankruptcy caused a plethora of headaches for the shipping industry, in the U.S. and at home in South Korea. One of the main issues has been the tied up chassis, on which the seemingly-abandoned containers remained, crowding ports and crippling the unloading process for other transport lines.

Hanjin and TTI had previously announced they would accept empty containers, but refused to accept leased containers. The most recent announcement resolves that issue and clears the way for an end to the ports' Hanjin-induced headaches.

In fact, Hanjin may soon not be part of the equation for West Coast ports. The company is reportedly mulling the sale of its share in the Long Beach Terminal to its TTI co-owner, Mediterranean Shipping.