Woori Bank said it had sold four tankers owned by Hanjin Shipping for $58.6 million to recover 36.8 billion won of uncollected ship financing debt.

When the financially troubled shipper went into court receivership in early September, it handed over its 44 ships bought on borrowed money to the creditors.

The four tankers, 8-9 years old, were the first to be sold among the 44 vessels, the bank said.



The bank put the vessels on sale in September on public bidding and selected a Hong Kong-based shipping company as the final buyer. On Thursday, the bank signed the sales deal. The bank plans to hand over the four tankers by the end of December.

“Woori Bank’s successful sale of the vessels is expected to positively affect ship sales of other financial institutions,” the bank said in a statement.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)