A Sendai Shiogama port official said the 30,000 tonne "Global Splendour" freighter was carrying 10,000 tonnes of coal from Indonesia. A transport ministry official said ships using the 14 ports were still only about 15 percent of the number before the quake.
A key port on Japan’s northeast coast devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami welcomed a foreign cargo ship on Friday for the first time since the disaster.
The ports had reopened to local shipping but foreign ships have mostly stayed away due to fears of radiation from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant .
The arrival of the Panama-registered “Global Splendour” at Sendai Shiogama, just 100 km (60 miles) north of the nuclear plant, follows confirmation by Miyagi Prefecture officials that radiation levels in seawater and air around the port are safe.