Fairplay Shipping News (UK) | 6 July 2009
DAEWOO Logistics, one of South Korea’s leading shipping and logistics companies, has filed for receivership in Seoul Central District Court.
Its move followed the failure of its plan to be acquired by Korean steel giant POSCO. DL operates bulk carriers, general cargo ships, tankers and car carriers.
DL has been plagued by severe cashflow problems, a weak shipping market and problems in developing farmland in Madagascar, where the company had planned substantial investment.
A move to sell DL to POSCO was aborted after Korean shipping companies threatened a boycott of the steel giant.
POSCO’s proposed entry into shipping was seen as a threat to many shipping enterprises because of the huge cargo volumes controlled by the steel company. DL transports 10% of steel products produced by POSCO. Daewoo Logistics was spun off from Daewoo through an employee buyout scheme after the financial crisis in 1999. DL began as a logistics enterprise, drawing on its experience of providing logistics support to the Daewoo group.
It was registered as a shipping company in 2004 as it diversified into ocean transport.
