TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) - A ship denied entry to a Chinese port over radiation concerns returned to Japan on Wednesday and current readings showed radiation levels were very low, owner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said.
China rejected the container ship, the MOL Presence, when it arrived at the port of Xiamen in eastern Fujian province, saying it detected "abnormal" radiation levels, but did not disclose China's standard level.
"The MOL Presence is now off Kobe port and undergoing inspections to measure radiation levels," Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said. "An interim report reading shows radiation levels are very low and not as high as levels that China indicated."
Chinese authorities detected a maximum of 3.5 microsieverts per hour on the ship when it arrived at the port of Xiamen in eastern Fujian province last week, Mitsui O.S.K. said.
That level is above the global average of naturally occurring background radiation, but half of the radiation experienced on a Tokyo-New York flight. [ID:nL3E7ER02S]
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 March 11 earthquake.
It was originally scheduled to travel to another Chinese port after Xiamen, a company spokeswoman said.
The MOL Presence originated in California, stopping in Tokyo for only a few hours on March 17 before arriving in China four days later, port authorities said.
Ports in Tokyo Bay, located 240 km (150 miles) south of the Fukushima nuclear plant, is considered safe by most shipping companies.
Radiation levels on Wednesday morning in Tokyo Bay ports were considered "very safe", Japan's transport ministry said on its website. (Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)