The Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) has confirmed this week that the results of a test carried out on the vessel Shenandoah Highway, which arrived in Ghent, Belgium on 20 April from Japan, have showed no signs of radioactivity.
The Flemish seaports and FANC opted to screen the ship as a precaution, with fears remaining over the impact on vessels of the Fukushima nuclear power station in Japan, which was damaged following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country in March.
Shenandoah Highway left the port of Yokkaichi on 11 March, which is located some 350km south of Fukushima, with the transit time of 30 days thought to have been long enough for any radioactivity to have diminished if there was any present in the first place.
During the screening operation the ship and its cargo were both checked for radiation by three FANC operatives on board the vessel while it was being piloted at sea, with values found below the level that might pose any threat to the environment or public health.
With the situation in Japan still uncertain, it has been decided that further screenings will be carried out, with a ship from Japan expected in Zeebrugge on 23 April before continuing on to Antwerp.
