The Yokkaichi Port Authority is responsible for managing and operating the Port of Yokkaichi. The Authority is a local public organization created by Yokkaichi City and Mie Prefecture. With both executive and legislative bodies, the governor of Mie Prefecture is the Port Authority’s president. Members of the Assembly are elected officials from the prefecture and municipal assemblies.

In 2005, the Port of Yokkaichi served over 21 thousand vessels carrying over 58.3 million gross tons of cargo, including 45.8 million tons of international and 12.6 million tons of domestic cargo. Foreign partners providing imports of 39.1 million tons included Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Australia, Kuwait, China, USA, and Russia.

In 2005, the Port of Yokkaichi sent international exports of 4 million tons to the USA, South Korea, China, Germany, Belgium, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and a variety of destinations. Foreign imports coming to the Port of Yokkaichi were dominated by crude oil and liquefied natural gas, while foreign exports were dominated by finished cars, chemicals, and synthetic resin.

Domestic traffic in the Port of Yokkaichi reached 20 million tons in 2005. Outbound domestic cargoes of 15.2 million tons were dominated by petroleum products, heavy oil, finished cars, coal, and chemicals. Inbound domestic cargoes of 4.9 million tons were dominated by chemicals, petroleum products, heavy oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and synthetic resin.

The modern Port of Yokkaichi opened it 1899, but it has played an important role as an international trading point since the 16th Century. The Port of Yokkaichi was quick to adjust to containerized cargoes, starting to handle containerized cargo as early as 1969.

Port of Yokkaichi container traffic has continued to grow since the late 1960s, with busy routes linking Japan to Southeast Asia, Southeast Australia, and many other countries as well as other areas within Japan. International container cargo traffic reached a high in 2005 of 145.4 thousand TEUs containing a total of 2.5 million tons of cargo including 1.2 million tons of exports and 1.3 million tons of imports.

Major countries sending containerized imports to the Port of Yokkaichi included China, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Imported container cargoes of 1.3 million tons were dominated by general cargoes, furniture and equipment, resin, synthetic resin, wood goods, and auto parts.

The Port of Yokkaichi delivered foreign container exports to China, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia; however, 36% of foreign container exports went to a variety of countries. Foreign container exports from the Port of Yokkaichi were dominated by synthetic resin, chemicals, auto parts, rubber goods, glass products, and general cargoes.

The Port of Yokkaichi’s 800-meter-long No. 1 Pier contains four berths that can accommodate six vessels at a time with alongside depths ranging from three to nine meters. Two berths can support vessels to 10 thousand DWT, one berth accommodates vessels to 8 thousand DWT, and the smaller berth with alongside depth of 3 meters can accommodate vessels to 300 DWT. The No. 1 Pier has six public sheds offering a total of 10.4 thousand square meters of storage area. The main cargoes handled at No. 1 Pier supports cargoes of chemicals and synthetic resins.

The No. 2 Pier at the Port of Yokkaichi is a total 930 meters long with alongside depths ranging from 5 to 10 meters. The three largest of six berths can accommodate vessels to 15 thousand DWT. The Port of Yokkaichi’s No. 2 Pier also has public sheds offering 20.7 thousand square meters of storage and a public sorting area of almost 8 thousand square meters. The No. 2 Pier also offers 2.8 thousand square meters of car storage and grain silos with total capacity for storing almost 59 thousand tons of grain. The major cargoes handled at the No. 2 Pier are grains.

At a total 799 meters long, the Port of Yokkaichi’s No. 3 Pier has five berths with depths ranging from 7.5 to 12 meters. The largest berth, 245 meters long with alongside depth 12 meters, can accommodate vessels to 30 thousand DWT. Two berths, each 220 meters long with alongside depth of 10 meters, can accommodate vessels to 15 thousand DWT. The smallest berth (114 meters long with alongside depth of 7.5 meters) accommodates vessels to 5 thousand DWT. Equipped with a pneumatic unloader, the No. 3 Pier contains three public sheds of a total 12.4 thousand square meters and five public sorting areas of 28.2 thousand square meters. The primary cargoes handled at No. 3 Pier are grains, minerals, and ores arriving on ocean-going vessels.

The No. 4 Pier at the Port of Yokkaichi is a coal berth of 125 meters with alongside depth of 7.5 meters, accommodating vessels to 5 thousand DWT.

The Port of Yokkaichi’s Kasumigaura Area covers about 3.8 million square meters, and the South Pier covers about 1.3 million square meters. The South Pier, with a total length of 2800 meters and alongside depths ranging from 4.5 to 14 meters, has mooring capacity for 25 vessels ranging from 700 to 60 thousand DWT. One berth (at 14  meters depth) can support vessels to 60 thousand DWT, two berths (at 12 meters depth) can accommodate vessels to 40 thousand DWT, and one berth (12 meters) serves vessels to 30 thousand DWT. Two berths at 4.5 meters depth can accommodate 11 vessels to 700 DWT. One berth (depth of 7.5 meters) handles vessels to 5 thousand DWT, and one berth (depth of 5.5 meters) can accommodate seven vessels to 2 thousand DWT.

Wharf No. 25 at the Port of Yokkaichi’s South Pier is 240 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters and mooring capacity of 40 thousand DWT. It contains two public sorting areas covering 55.4 thousand square meters.

The Port of Yokkaichi’s South Area Wharf No. 22 is 280 meters long with alongside depth of 14 meters and mooring capacity for vessels to 60 thousand DWT. Wharf No. 22 contains a public sorting area of 12.2 thousand square meters. It also has coal string capacity for one million tons in 151.8 thousand square meters. The Wharf has capacity to handle three million tons of coal per year.

Crude oil and petroleum products make up 90% of the imports arriving at the Port of Yokkaichi. Naturally, the port has evolved into an energy material importing port. Crude oil is discharged primarily at the three sea berths that are located about six kilometers offshore. The product is transferred to shore tanks in the Port of Yokkaichi through submarine pipes. Including the sea berths, the Port of Yokkaichi has seven berths that discharge crude oil and petroleum products, supplying both the three major coastal petrochemical complexes and the domestic power generators with raw materials for energy. The Sea Berth contains one unit at 18 meters depth that can handle vessels to 170 thousand DWT, one at 21 meters depth handling vessels to 230 thousand DWT, and one unit at 22 meters depth that can accommodate vessels to 275 thousand DWT.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Indonesia and Qatar is discharged at the Port of Yokkaichi’s Kasumigaura Area South Pier and the Kawagoe Area. The LNG is delivered to the town and the local thermal power generator. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is also imported and stored in the Port of Yokkaichi for delivery to many areas in Japan. In response to the increasing demand for energy and the decreasing availability of oil, the Port of Yokkaichi has built a full-scale coal storage base in the port. The coal facility has been managed in an environmentally-responsible manner without creating pollution. The Port of Yokkaichi’s Thermal Power Station has two berths at 14 meters depth to handle LNG and LPG.

Devoted to containerized cargo, the Yokkaichi Container Berth is 250 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters. The Port of Yokkaichi development plan includes building: an overseas container terminal to accommodate the ever-larger container vessels on the seas, green zones to protect the port environment, earth-quake resistant wharves, and a road that links the port with the local expressway. The plan also addresses the public and cultural aspects of the port, including building a boardwalk on the shoreline, and providing public green space. In addition, the Port of Yokkaichi will increase public access to the shoreline and provide recreational and cultural facilities for use by the local population.

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