EXTRACT 1
Japan’s shipyards remain intact after quake
Japan’s major shipyards escaped the full impact of the March 11
earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeastern coast of the
country with full force. An official at the Japan Ship Exporters’
Association said the devastating natural disaster “will have no impact
on future export ship orders at all”. Although several small shipyards
in the quake-hit areas were affected, major Japanese shipyards that
build large vessels for exports are concentrated in western Japan and
remain intact, the official said. Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding
sustained “slight material damages” in the company’s Kasai Center
and Chiba Works but did not consider such slight damages would
cause serious impact on operations. “The rotational schedule of
interruption of power supply due to the earthquake may affect our
operation at our works and subsidiaries. However, the degree of the
impact is not known now,” the company said in a statement.
Japanese export ship orders rose for the 15th consecutive month in
February o a year-on-year basis. Japanese shipbuilders received
orders for 277 export vessels – 259 bulk carriers, 10 oil tankers and
eight general cargo vessels – in the April-February period.
(Adapted from: www.australianmerchantnavy.com, March 2011)
EXTRACT 2
Tsnunami Debris Expected on U.S. Shores in 3 Years
The powerful tsunami triggered by the 9.0 Japanese earthquake
destroyed coastal towns near Sendai, washing such things as houses
and cars into the ocean. Projections of where this debris might head
have been made at the international Pacific Research Center,
university of Hawaii at Manoa. What their model predicts about the
tsunami debris is that they first spread out eastward from the Japan
Coast in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. In a year, the
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument will see pieces
washing up on its shores; in two years, the remaining Hawaiian
islands will see some effects; in three years, the plume will reach the
US West Coast, dumping debris on Californian beaches and the
beaches of British Columbia, Alaska, and Baja California. The debris
will then drift into the famous floating junk yard, the North Pacific
Garbage Patch, where it will wander around and break into smaller
and smaller pieces. In five years, Hawaii shores can expect to see
another barrage of debris that is stronger and longer-lasting than the
first one. Much of the debris leaving the North Pacific Garbage Patch
ends up on Hawaii’s reefs and beaches. These model projections will
help to guide clean-up and tracking operations.
(Adapted from: www.geog.ucsb.edu, April 2011)
