Japan Quake, Tsunami To Disrupt Asia Shipping Operations For Weeks gCaptain Total Views: 78 March 14, 2011 SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)–With many Japanese ports still closed after Friday’s powerful earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, it could take several days if not weeks before shipping activity in the region returns to normal, traders and shipbrokers said Sunday. “The structural stability at the ports will need to be certified before normal shipping can resume and this could take weeks,” said an official with a global oil major, who didn’t want to be identified. “No official announcement has been received about the status of the ports, but it appears likely that those on the Pacific shoreline of Honshu Island will be out of operation for some time. There have been multiple reports of vessels running aground or colliding as a result of the massive wave that followed the 8.9 magnitude quake. Damage to infrastructure in the affected area is thought to be extensive,” an internal report of a Singapore-based shipping agent said. “There are some unconfirmed reports indicating that a number of vessels have ran aground in the vicinity of the northeastern part of the Pacific basin of Japan,” another shipping company report said. Even after the ports have been secured and cleared, shipping agents may find it difficult to store cargo at ports that have suffered substantial damage, the oil company executive said. Shipments of several hundred thousand tons of grains such as wheat and corn, will also likely be delayed as shippers and importers come to grip with the calamity. “We are still taking stock of the situation, but delivery of some of our cargoes may be postponed,” said a Tokyo-based executive with a global trading company. Another trader said shipments of March cargoes may now spill over into April. Imported grain deliveries to northern ports, such as Sendai, Hachinohe and Kamaishi, will be delayed, he said. It is possible that southern ports such as Tokyo, Yokohama