The container ship, the MOL Presence, was rejected by Chinese authorities when it arrived at the port of Xiamen in eastern Fujian province last month after China said it had detected "abnormal" radiation levels.
The MOL Presence returned to Kobe late last month and underwent inspections to measure radiation levels, where "a very small amount of radiation was found, well below the level seen detected in Xiamen," Mitsui O.S.K. said.
The Japanese shipper said Chinese authorities had detected a maximum of 3.5 microsieverts per hour on the ship.
The container ship, carrying machinery, furniture and other cargo, headed for Hong Kong on April 1. "It was permitted entry into the Hong Kong local port after Hong Kong authorities confirmed its safety following inspections," Mitsui O.S.K. said.
The ship left on Saturday and was heading to Thailand, a spokesman for Hong Kong's Marine Department said. A statement by the department showed radioactivity readings taken were "below Hong Kong's intervention level for surface decontamination."
The container vessel was the first ship barred from unloading its cargo at a foreign port over radiation concerns since Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant was crippled by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
To alleviate concerns about contamination from the nuclear plant, Japan's transport ministry said on Friday it would start measuring the radiation levels of ships and containers leaving the Tokyo Bay area for foreign ports, and issue to ship owners certificates recording radiation levels confirmed as below a standard level.
A Japanese transport ministry official and an official at the Japanese Shipowners' Association said they were not aware of any other Japanese ship being denied entry to China.
China's quality watchdog said on Friday it has found 10 cases of ships, aircraft or cargo arriving from Japan with higher than normal levels of radiation since mid-March. (Reuters)
