SEOUL (REUTERS) - South Korea's oceans ministry said on Friday (Sept 2) the port authorities of Busan and Incheon will guarantee payments for qualifying services offered to Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd vessels.

The ministry said in a statement it is taking measures to ensure that cargo-related services for the troubled shipper's ships will resume.

Lashing operations for two Hanjin ships have resumed in Busan as of 10 am on Friday, the ministry said, while another Hanjin vessel scheduled to arrive in Incheon at 5 pm the same day will be able to get relevant services to enter the port and offload cargo.

Some 44 Hanjin ships have been so far denied access to ports while 1 ship has been seized, a company spokeswoman said on Friday.

The 44 ships include instances where port service providers such as lashing firms have denied service, or port authorities are denying entry to ports, the spokeswoman added.

Hanjin operates 98 container ships.

US retailers on Thursday urged their government to take steps to minimise disruption from the collapse of the world's seventh-largest container shipper as more of its vessels have been seized or blocked from entering ports around the world.