Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood ruled yesterday South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. must answer to U.S. creditors by publicly disclosing all of its U.S.-based assets as well as any cash that has been transferred out of the country, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Judge Sherwood ordered that the disclosures in response to a plea from American creditors who say they are being treated unfairly. The judge also said that he would grant final approval of a host of legal protections that have helped the shipper, once one of the world’s largest, jump-start stalled supply lines. The decision, which some creditors opposed, affirms the New Jersey court’s September ruling that formally recognized the Hanjin’s bankruptcy proceeding in Korea, bringing the shipper under the umbrella of U.S. bankruptcy law. Judge Sherwood’s order imposes strict prohibitions on U.S. creditors that prevent them from seizing ships and other assets without first going to the bankruptcy court.
