The MOL Presence arrived in Hong Kong last week after a test found the level of radiation had declined from the previously higher-than-normal level detected after the vessel passed within 70 miles offshore of the damaged Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
Chinese authorities had turned the ship away from the Port of Xiamen on March 21 when a second inspection by the port confirmed the high levels and recommended that the ship be cleaned before it could offload cargo there.
The MOL Presence arrived in Hong Kong last week after a test found the level of radiation had declined from the previously higher-than-normal level detected after the vessel passed within 70 miles offshore of the damaged Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
Chinese authorities had turned the ship away from the Port of Xiamen on March 21 when a second inspection by the port confirmed the high levels and recommended that the ship be cleaned before it could offload cargo there.
The Fukushima power plant was badly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 and has been leaking radioactive water.
The MOL Presence originated its voyage in California, stopped in Tokyo for only a few hours on March 17, and arrived in China on the night of March 21.
MOL said Friday that on-site inspection by a third party was not approved, so the ship left the waters off Xiamen for Japan on March 27.
It was inspected again on March 30 by Nippon Kaiji Kentei Kyokai off Kobe Port, which found that the detected radiation level was significantly lower than the level detected in Xiamen.
The MOL Presence departed on April 1 for Hong Kong, where the Hong Kong port Authority confirmed that the radiation levels were safe and gave it permission to berth there and conduct cargo operations.
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