Quake-crippled Japan could face severe supply chain bottlenecks if foreign shipping firms divert their vessels from Tokyo's port due to radiation fears, said the head of an A.P. Moller-Maersk subsidiary, Forexyard reports.
Should this be the start of a trend in the shipping industry, Japan could face major delays and seaborne congestion at ports, hindering recovery efforts in the wake of the March 11 earthquake.
"A few German shipping lines have decided not to go to these ports," Tim Wickmann, chief executive of MCC Transport, at the company's headquarters in Singapore, told Reuters. "The last thing Japan needs right now is for people to abandon them."
Wickmann declined to specify which German companies have halted shipments to Tokyo, the country's fourth largest port.
Lloyd's List reported on Thursday Claus-Peter Offen, one of Germany's largest shipowners, had suspended calls for his company's entire fleet of more than 110 vessels to Tokyo and Yokohama because of radiation fears.
"As long as the authorities consider the port safe, we want to go. But of course if you have a crew that refuses to sail the ship, what can you do?," asked Wickmann.
Tokyo Electric Power said on Thursday the overall situation was stabilising at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Engineers are trying to stabilise the six-reactor plant nearly two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami battered it and devastated northeast Japan, leaving nearly 26,000 people dead or missing.
MCC Transport, a subsidiary of Maersk focused on the intra-Asia container trade, has continued normal operations of its four shipping lines to Japan.
SUPPLY BOTTLENECKS
Container shipments to eastern Japan could come to a virtual standstill if maritime firms decide Tokyo was too dangerous.
"I think that shippers around Asia in such case will stop their cargoes to eastern Japan. They will hold the cargo at various ports -- Korea, Taiwan or other nearby ports," he said.
Shipowners were also legally required to transport their clients' cargo as long as Tokyo's port was considered safe.
"The shipowners don't have the right to refuse to go. This could open up major legal battles," Wickmann said.
At the same time, shipping lines could be held liable if crew members become ill from radiation exposure during their voyages to eastern Japan.
The earthquake was expected to cut MCC Transport's shipments into Japan by 10 percent and exports between 30 to 40 percent. Wickmann declined to specify how much volume that translated into.
MCC Transport, which has a fleet of 55 ships, has a total capacity of around 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per week to Tokyo and Yokohama.
Should this be the start of a trend in the shipping industry, Japan could face major delays and seaborne congestion at ports, hindering recovery efforts in the wake of the March 11 earthquake.
"A few German shipping lines have decided not to go to these ports," Tim Wickmann, chief executive of MCC Transport, at the company's headquarters in Singapore, told Reuters. "The last thing Japan needs right now is for people to abandon them."
Wickmann declined to specify which German companies have halted shipments to Tokyo, the country's fourth largest port.
Lloyd's List reported on Thursday Claus-Peter Offen, one of Germany's largest shipowners, had suspended calls for his company's entire fleet of more than 110 vessels to Tokyo and Yokohama because of radiation fears.
"As long as the authorities consider the port safe, we want to go. But of course if you have a crew that refuses to sail the ship, what can you do?," asked Wickmann.
Tokyo Electric Power said on Thursday the overall situation was stabilising at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Engineers are trying to stabilise the six-reactor plant nearly two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami battered it and devastated northeast Japan, leaving nearly 26,000 people dead or missing.
MCC Transport, a subsidiary of Maersk focused on the intra-Asia container trade, has continued normal operations of its four shipping lines to Japan.
SUPPLY BOTTLENECKS
Container shipments to eastern Japan could come to a virtual standstill if maritime firms decide Tokyo was too dangerous.
"I think that shippers around Asia in such case will stop their cargoes to eastern Japan. They will hold the cargo at various ports -- Korea, Taiwan or other nearby ports," he said.
Shipowners were also legally required to transport their clients' cargo as long as Tokyo's port was considered safe.
"The shipowners don't have the right to refuse to go. This could open up major legal battles," Wickmann said.
At the same time, shipping lines could be held liable if crew members become ill from radiation exposure during their voyages to eastern Japan.
The earthquake was expected to cut MCC Transport's shipments into Japan by 10 percent and exports between 30 to 40 percent. Wickmann declined to specify how much volume that translated into.
MCC Transport, which has a fleet of 55 ships, has a total capacity of around 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per week to Tokyo and Yokohama.