Shipping lines suspended service to three Japanese ports that were hit by Friday's tsunami but continue to serve six other ports where rolling blackouts are limiting operations.
The ports of Sendai, Onahama and Hachinohe are closed because their terminals suffered some damage," said Mary Ann Kotlarich, a spokesperson for Maersk Line in the U.S. She said Maersk is not accepting booking at these ports until more information can be obtained.
"The ports of Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka and Hakata are open and operating, and we are accepting bookings to and from these ports, although they were closed on Friday," Kotlarich said.
Because the six ports were closed on Friday after the earthquake, they are experiencing some congestion. OOCL said it was dropping shipments for ports affected by the tsunami at Tokyo or Yokohama.
Maersk said it continues to serve other Japanese ports as usual for now, but service may be subject to changes later.
The Journal of Commerce Online