Hanjin Shipping, South Korea's biggest shipping line, on Wednesday filed for court receivership after its creditors refused to provide additional financial support to the debt-ridden company.

The court filing came after the board of Hanjin decided unanimously to apply for receivership at a meeting earlier in the day, according to Yonhap news agency report.

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), Hanjin's main creditor, said Tuesday that the shipper's restructuring plan was not enough to survive amid an industry-wide slump, caused by falling global trade since the 2008 global financial crisis.

The South Korean shipping industry has been grappling with a prolonged downturn in global trade that led to overcapacity and lower freight rates. Charter rates on leased vessels were fixed at a high level, increasing operating costs amid falling revenue.

Hanjin, the world's seventh-largest container shipping line by capacity, reported a loss of 474.1 billion won (425 million U.S. dollars) in the January-June period, turning into the red from a 103.3 billion won profit a year earlier. The company posted losses for four of the past five years.

Falling orders along with continued losses resulted in an increase in debts. Hanjin had a total debt of 6.1 trillion won (5.4 billion dollars) as of end-June.

Hanjin shares were suspended on Tuesday after plunging almost 30 percent in Seoul trading. The shipping line is affiliated with Hanjin Group, the 10th-largest South Korean conglomerate as of 2016 that operates the Korean Air Lines. Endit

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