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The Hanjin Scarlet was formally seized Wednesday afternoon, just hours before it was scheduled to leave port for Seattle, said Michael Zuber, the court-appointed bailiff with North Central Bailiffs who served the warrant.

“The captain was very surprised when I gave him the warrant,” Zuber said. “They had been preparing to leave port and had arranged for pilots.”

The ship, however, remains at Anchorage 27 off Prescott Island outside Prince Rupert harbour.

There is no indication that the crews of either ship are in any difficulty.

Since the ships were detained, court filings show that the list of creditors has stretched to terminal operators, the Prince Rupert and Vancouver port authorities themselves and suppliers such as Saam Smit and World Fuel Services Inc.

And the claims filed at Federal Court in Vancouver name unpaid bills related to as many as four other vessels that have called at both ports in recent months.

Hanjin Shipping, the world’s seventh largest container-shipping company, sought court protection from its creditors in South Korea after a proposal for restructuring was rejected by creditors and its financiers balked at extending the company additional credit.

In the chaos that has followed that filing, the Hanjin Scarlet and Hanjin Vienna are among at least six ships that have been arrested or seized by creditors looking to secure claims, according to documents on the company’s website.

The list showing the status of Hanjin vessels indicates most others to be at anchor or “waiting in open ocean.”

Hanjin Shipping has sought court orders for creditor protection, similar to its arrangement in South Korea, in major shipping destinations such as Japan, the U.K. and United States.

A U.S. judge, last week, granted Hanjin a temporary order barring creditors from seizing the company’s assets to facilitate offloading of cargo at what is a critical period for the North American retail supply chain.

With files from Jeff Lee, Postmedia News and Bloomberg News.

depenner@postmedia.com

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