Japan logistics back on track

Most of Japan's rail and road systems and ports and harbours that were devastated by the recent earthquake and tsunami have been restored, according to Shipping Gazette quoting reports in Journal of Commerce. About 90 per cent of the facilities have started functioning once more, says the report. Quoting the country's transport minister, the report points out that restoration of connectivity in the affected areas has made significant progress. “We have pulled all stops to restore transport network to ensure speedy supplies of essential items to the affected regions,” the minister has been quoted as saying. The country's 15 major ports along the Pacific coast in the north-eastern region have reopened as have most access roads. All local airports in the north-east have reopened to commercial traffic though the Sendai airport, the hardest hit, is only open to planes carrying relief and aid. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has announced that it continues to call at the ports of Tokyo, Yokohama and Nagoya despite other shipping lines deciding to curtail services to these ports. In a statement, OOCL has announced that it continues to accept bookings for shipments to and from Japan, except to and from the ports of Sendai, Kashima and Hitachinaka.

Eye on ash for safe flights

Eurocontrol, the intergovernmental aviation safety board representing 39 member states, will conduct a two-day drill around the middle of this month to simulate last year's volcanic eruption in Iceland, at Eyjafjallajokull, that shut down Europe's airspace. London's Financial Times reports that 200 aviation and meteorological authorities will take part in the exercise involving use of new computer models and data sharing procedures under the supervision of Eurocontrol. Last year's disaster had shut 75 per cent of Europe's airspace and affected 100,000 flights and 10 million passengers besides causing congestion in rail and road systems and a host of other problems. The loss was estimated at $2.8 billion. This time the authorities are more hopeful. By accurately tracking the movement of ash, the authorities said, it should be possible to keep more airspace open should another eruption take place tomorrow. The report quotes an IATA spokesman as saying, “Last year there was no effective coordination, with different aviation bodies taking independent decisions on an hour-by-hour basis.”

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