The Port of Seattle had three friendship ports in the Miyagi Prefecture; Shiogama, Ishinomaki and Kessennuma, which were established in 1990. These ports were directly affected and extensively damaged by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The Port of Seattle held a candlelight service on March 31, 2011 at 7:30PM, to remember the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster at the Port of Seattle Fishermen's Terminal.
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| Port of Seattle Fishermen's Terminal |
Speakers from the port gave remarks on their thoughts on the recent disaster and reflected on the friends they had made in the past experiences with the friendship ports. Bill Bryant, President of the Port Commission led the program and introduced other speakers who gave their thoughts on the recent disaster or reflected on the friends they had made in the past experiences with the friendship ports. The speakers were: commercial fisherman, Pete Knutson, Seattle's Consulate General of Japan, Kiyokazu Ota, former Port Commssion President Patricia Davis, who signed the 1990 friendship port agreement, and King County Assessor Lloyd Hara, who had been a former commisssioner of the port of Seattle.
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| Seattle Consul General Kiyokazu Ota |
The service was concluded by Bill Bryant who led the moment of silence and the recitation of the poem, "
Our Hearts Ache Eastward (For the victims of floods, earthquakes and the tsunamis in the Pacific) " by Safiyah Fosua. Flame-less candles which had been passed out at the beginning of the service were lit as participants recited the poem and took a moment to remember the victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster.
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| Seattle Port Commission President Bill Bryant |
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