Some ports in northern Japan resume operations

Two piers at a quake-hit port in northern Japan have already resumed operations and several smaller ports are likely to reopen within a few days, a government official said on Thursday.


Two piers at the medium-sized Onahama seaport in Fukushima prefecture are now available for 30,000 tonne vessels, the official said.


Two smaller seaports further up the coast, Miyako in Iwate prefecture and Hachinohe in Aomori prefecture, will restore functions by the end of Thursday, although the operation schedules are not yet set, the official added.


Japanese ports handling as much as 7 percent of the country's industrial output had shut after a 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami, which are likely to have killed more than 10,000 people, hit northern Japan last week.


The government has dispatched large work-boats to handle oil on the water and has sent emergency items such as power generators and construction machinery.


But the fleet cannot access the Soma port near the quake-crippled Fukushima nuclear plant due to high radiation levels, while there is also oil leakage at the port.
(Source:http://en.portnews.ru)