HANJIN SHIPS, CARGO AND SAILORS STRANDED AT SEA
Ports, fearing they will not get paid, refuse to let them dock or unload.
That means the ships are forced to wait for Hanjin, its creditors or partners to find a solution.
It's a case of unprecedented scale, with experts expecting the deadlock to last for weeks, if not months.
"[It is] a major disaster for the shipping companies and for the companies that own the goods in those containers," Greg Knowler, maritime and trade analyst with IHS Markit, told the BBC from Hong Kong.
Read more: Shipping giant Hanjin to enter receivership
Peak season
Not only are ships not allowed to unload, containers waiting to be picked up are also being held back by the ports as collateral over unpaid bills.
And even if the ports did allow them in, Hanjing would probably not as the vessels could expect to be immediately repossessed by the firm's creditors.
Beyond the ships and containers, there is of course the cargo within those containers - in many cases part of a tight chain of supply and delivery.
By September, the global shipping industry is already into what is its busiest time of the year ahead of the Christmas season.
"Just imagine, there are some 540,000 containers with cargo caught up at sea," explains Lars Jensen, chief executive of Sea Intelligence Consulting in Copenhagen.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37241727