As a result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, container shipping to and from Japan will be affected for some time due to lack of exports coming from Japanese factories, prompting shipping lines to skip Japanese ports, according to an early assessment by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO).

In the short-term, said BIMCO, shipping demand will only recover slowly. Medium to long-term demand may be higher because the natural calamity itself would provide demand for new materials to replace those which had been destroyed.

For the next few weeks, exports are expected to be very slow, according to those on the ground. Similarly, onward traffic to Japan will also reduce.

More than 40 ships were scheduled to be in Yokohama, the 39th biggest container port in the world, the day the earthquake and tsunami struck last week, according to reports.

Dry bulk shipping is expected to be impacted as Japan is a major importer of thermal coal for power generation, iron ore and coking coal for steel production and grains for food and feedstock.

With several nuclear power plants knocked out by the tsunami, coal-fired power plant output is expected to be in greater demand and in need of fresh stocks, especially after much of it was washed away in the flooding.

With 18 per cent of Japan’s oil refining capacity deactivated by the natural disaster, the tanker segment too will be impacted because refineries are on fire, reducing product tanker demand, Exim News Service reports.