Japanese ports re-open, Sendai airport only takes relief flights

ALL 15 ports along devastated Pacific coast of Japan are usable for all purposes, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.


Eleven airports in the north eastern part of the country had already re-opened by the end of last week, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce. But hardest hits Sendai Airport is open only to flights carrying relief supplies, and normal passenger service is not expected to resume for months, say authorities.


The ban on ordinary vehicles was completely lifted on the Tohoku Expressway and Ban-etsu Expressway on Thursday. Damage to transport infrastructure, fuel shortages and fears of a serious nuclear disaster involving one of Tokyo Electric Power's nuclear plants, have hampered relief and recovery efforts, said the report.


Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture has suffered fires and explosions, leaking radiation. People living within a 12.5-mile radius of the plant have been evacuated.


But German shipping lines have suspended calls on eastern Japanese ports, including Tokyo, because of radiation. Hapag-Lloyd has no longer calls at Tokyo and Yokohama and diverts cargo to Kobe. Maersk is operating normally.


Tokyo and Yokohama handled 7.5 million TEU in 2010, 38 per cent of total Japanese box traffic, according to Alphaliner, the Paris-based analyst.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)