Ships slowly returning to Japan's ports

Ships are starting to come back to Japan's quake-damaged ports, the country’s transport ministry said, despite the lingering nuclear crisis.


An average of more than 15 vessels per day are docking at 14 major ports in Japan's northeast as operations are being ramped up following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Ministry said on its website. That number, however, remains a small fraction of the 144 ships that entered the ports each day during the same period last year.


Last month’s disaster did less damage to Japan’s port infrastructure than initially expected.


Foreign crew members remain hesitant to travel near Japan's damaged Fukushima nuclear complex, forcing shippers to use Japanese vessels instead to transport goods, senior industry executives said.


Japan has restricted seaborne traffic 30 km from the nuclear plant, while many shipping companies have imposed a minimum exclusion zone ranging from 80 to 100 km, according to Exim News Service.
(Source:http://www.transportweekly.com)