Shares in the troubled South Korean shipper Hanjin were down fove percent at midday after shedding twelve percent in trading on Monday.  The plunge was sparked by news that Hanjin got a bankruptcy court's approval to wind down its European operations.

The judge approved Hanjin's request to close all ten of its branches in Europe, including its regional headquarters in Germany.  A company spokeswoman said the Seoul-based company expects to start the process as early as this week.  Hanjin is selling off ships left and right - Korean rival Hyundai is said to be interested in some of those - and is seeking bids on its 54 percent interest in in Total Terminals International LLC, which runs a terminal in the all-important Port of Long Beach, California. 

The company said it had about 4.3 percent market share on the Asia-Europe trade last year.  But as pieces of Hanjin keep falling away, rivals such as A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S and CMA CGM SA will try to step up and fill the gap.

"The biggest shipping lines will be the biggest gainers because they have the ability to move in much faster,” said Rahul Kapoor, a director at Drewry Financial Research Services Ltd. in Singapore, to Bloomberg Business News.  "The European lines like Maersk Line have already moved in to increase market share and they will continue to do so," he added.