World News Engine: Japan's nuclear crisis

Japan's nuclear crisis

A widening nuclear crisis that has already forced some shipping firms to avoid Japan's key ports and sea lanes, could upset the global supply chain and hamper the nation's recovery, analysts say.

German container shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd has halted services to the ports of Yokohama and Tokyo - the two major facilities on Tokyo Bay - over fears of radiation contaminating its vessels, crew or cargo.

Other shipping lines have not so far interrupted port calls in the Tokyo Bay region, but have established no-go zones around the Fukushima nuclear power plant crippled by the quake and tsunami that hit northeast Japan on March 11.

Radiation from the plant is a "clear and present danger" to shipping lanes and ports on Japan's northeast coast, said Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific chief economist at consultancy IHS Global Insight.

Workers have so far failed to contain radiation leaks from the plant, which have contaminated farm produce and drinking water and prompted several countries to ban food imports from the area.

Levels of radioactive iodine-131 in the sea off the plant hit 4,385 times the legal limit on Thursday, their highest reading so far, officials said, amid a struggle to deal with large amounts of radioactive water at the site.

Officials have said that tidal dispersion means there is no immediate health threat, and that the iodine degrades relatively quickly.

Aside from health issues, radiation-tainted ships and their cargo risk being rejected by receiving ports, leading to heavy economic losses.

Authorities at the Chinese port of Xiamen last week turned away a Japanese merchant vessel over radiation concerns. The ship had sailed past the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a distance of 67 nautical miles, industry sources said.

"If more shipping lines start to restrict their ships calling at the Tokyo Bay ports of Tokyo and Yokohama, this has very severe logistical implications for Japanese trade," Biswas told AFP.

Over one third of Japan's sea container shipments go in and out of the two ports, he said.

"Although shipments can be diverted to more southerly ports such as Kobe, it will create tremendous logistical problems for the southern ports of Japan to handle very large additional shipping volumes."

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