Creditors claim they are owed for unpaid services such as towing and fuelling and fear Hanjin ships will flee to ports that do not recognise their claims, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

They have requested that that a previous order by the federal bankruptcy court to protect Hanjin's vessels from being seized at US ports should not apply to vessels chartered by Hanjin, because they are not Hanjin's property.

The plea highlights the competing interests at stake as Hanjin's business unravels in the wake of the shipping giant's bankruptcy. 

The creditors have liens against Hanjin ships that would ordinarily allow them to foreclose on the vessels, and several ships have been arrested at non-US ports.

But US courts have sided with importers by allowing Hanjin vessels to unload cargo at selected US ports without fear of seizure to minimise supply chain disruption.

Dozens of ships remain stranded at sea with billions of dollars of goods, and it is unclear whether those shipments would be released if the vessels are seized by creditors.

Meanwhile, the South Korean court has given Hanjin until December to submit a rehabilitation plan to save the company, but the general view, supported by IHS Media, Lloyd's Loading List, Drewry and SeaIntel is that there is little hope and the company will be liquidated.