The Shimonoseki City government’s Port and Harbour Bureau is the port authority for the Port of Shimonoseki. The Main Port area, containing Piers No. 1 and No. 2 and the Hosoe Wharf, is the site of the customs service, port-related government offices, and the Shimonoseki Port International Terminal. The terminal serves international ferry routes. The Main Port area also contains warehouse, refrigerator, and freezer facilities. No. 1 Pier has a continuous mechanical grain unloader that handles wheat and barley imports.

The Port of Shimonoseki’s Main Port area includes the No. 1 Wharf with mooring capacity for seven vessels at five berths with a total length of 956 meters and alongside depths from 4.5 to 13 meters. With depth of 4.5 meters, Berth No. 8 (210 meters) can accommodate two vessels to 500 DWT, and Berth No. 11 (120 meters) can accommodate two vessels to 700 DWT. With alongside depth of 9 meters, Berths 12 and 13 (330 meters) can accommodate two vessels to 10 thousand DWT. Berth 10 is 296 meters long with alongside depth of 13 meters and can accommodate vessels to 20 thousand DWT.

The No. 2 Wharf in the Port of Shimonoseki’s Main Port area contains three berths with total length of 542 meters and alongside depths of 9 and 10 meters. Berth No. 15, at 150 meters long with alongside depth of 9 meters, can accommodate vessels to 10 thousand DWT, and Berths 16 and 17 (at 392 meters with alongside depth of 10 meters) can accommodate vessels to 15 thousand DWT. This wharf serves cargoes of marine products and aluminum carried by Chinese and Korean vessels, and it has 36-ton refrigerator and freezer warehouses.

The Hosoe Wharf can moor six vessels. Berths 20, 21, and 22 (at 213 meters long with alongside depth of 5.5 meters) can accommodate vessels to two thousand DWT. Berths 18 and 19 are 260 meters long with alongside depth 7.5 meters and can accommodate vessels to 5 thousand DWT. The Hosoe Wharf main berth is 370 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, and it can accommodate two vessels to 15 thousand DWT. The Hosoe Wharf is the major ferry wharf for the Port of Shimonoseki. It also receives imported cargoes for delivery inland by truck and rail. The Hosoe Wharf has customs and quarantine services, fumigation facilities, food inspection service.

Major exports through the Port of Shimonoseki’s Hosoe Wharf include electrical and other machinery. Imports are dominated by clothing, fruit, vegetables, and food products. The wharf contains seven storage sheds and a private 18-ton refrigerator and freezer warehouse for imported foods.

The Main Port area in the Port of Shimonoseki contains a fumigation shed with the latest equipment and capacity to fumigate two chambers at the same time to assure prompt delivery of fresh vegetables to consumers. Chamber A covers 156 square meters and can handle 800 cubic meters of cargo, and Chamber B covers 78 meters and can handle 400 cubic meters of cargo.

The Port of Shimonoseki’s International Terminal was completed in 1988. It is Japan’s first passenger terminal for foreign routes with customs, immigration, and quarantine facilities. The building’s first floor is a container freight station. Ticket offices and customs and immigration services are on the second floor. In 2002, about 170 thousand passengers from Korea and China used the facility.

The Port of Shimonoseki’s East Port area, on the Kanmon Strait waterfront, is being developed as a culture, tourism, education, and commercial and trade center. The Shimonoseki Marine Science Museum opened there in 2001. The area includes an international passenger terminal and the Arcaport Wharf. The berth is 335 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters, and it can accommodate vessels to 50 thousand DWT. The terminal is a port of call for Japan cruises, deep-water survey research vessels, and sailing ships.

On the east side of the Port of Shimonoseki’s waterfront area, the new tourism and commercial facilities in the Karato district will focus on the cultural role of the Karato Market. The new Karato Market opened in 2001, and the Port of Shimonoseki’s Fisherman’s Wharf opened in 2002. These two attractions are favorite tourist spots, complemented by the Shimonoseki Marine Science Museum. An excursion boat takes visitors from the Karato Pier to historic Ganryujima Island.

The Port and Harbour Bureau plans to build a multi-purpose international terminal on the Shimonoseki Port Offshore Artificial Island. Due to limited land resources, the artificial island (Choshu Dejima) will allow future growth of the Port of Shimonoseki, particularly for handling international container cargoes and the larger modern vessels. Work on the Transport and Logistics Zone began in 1995, and the bridge connecting the island with the mainland was finished in 2005. Reclamation work behind the quay was finished in 2006, and the Transport and Logistics Zone was to begin service in 2008.

The artificial island is a base for shuttle services for high-speed roll-on/roll-off vessels and container ships between the Port of Shimonoseki and East Asia. It is also the international hub port for the northern Kyushu region. The terminal includes two berths of 240 meters with alongside depth of 12 meters, and they will be equipped with high-performance machinery for loading/unloading to accommodate vessels to 30 thousand DWT. The area includes a 21-hectare site and about 62 hectares for transport and logistics. With the new artificial island, ships from East Asia can cut an hour off their trip time. Not affected by tides, ships can use the new facility at any time.

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