Japanese Sendai port resumes fuel shipment

The Japanese port of Sendai has welcomed its first fuel shipment on Monday since it was damaged by earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, local officials have said. An Asahi Tanker Co vessel carrying 2,000 kilolitres of fuel called at the port yesterday, including petrol and heating oil, according to a statement from the transport ministry. A similar delivery is planned for today. “Tankers will come in one after another from now on,” Kuniharu Ebina, manager of the ministry's coastal cargo division, was reported saying. The government plans to open all 11 ports damaged by the earthquake and tsunami for relief shipments by today. Japan is still facing difficulties in delivering fuel supplies to the various damaged ports along the northeast coast, which took the biggest hit from the natural disaster.