US engineers will need eight to 10 weeks to repair a pier at the Haitian capital's crucial port after aftershocks knocked it out of operation, a US general said on Thursday.

While the southern pier undergoes repairs, the US military was deploying landing craft and floating docks to try to bring in more badly-needed relief supplies, said General Douglas Fraser, head of the US Southern Command.

Of the port's two main piers, one was totally destroyed and one partially survived the country's massive January 12 earthquake.

The southern pier was able to operate with limited traffic but had to be shut down again Wednesday after divers detected further damage from a spate of aftershocks, Fraser told reporters by video link from Miami.

"We're looking at the repair of the pier, the south pier, that we just had to stop using yesterday," Fraser said.

Engineers estimated "it will take us eight to 10 weeks to repair that facility," he said.

The discovery of fresh damage at the southern pier dealt another setback to relief efforts as aid agencies view the port as a vital gateway for supplies and heavy equipment needed for reconstruction.

The US Navy was now transporting 200 containers a day through its temporary "over-the-shore" vessels and equipment and by next week planned to move 500 containers a day, with plans for 800 containers a day by the middle of February, he said.

The military was also looking at moving some supplies through smaller ports around Port-au-Prince, he added.

Engineering teams were planning longer-term repairs that would restore the southern pier to its pre-earthquake capacity but it was unclear how long that work would take, he said.

In a major relief operation, the US military has deployed 20,000 forces, 23 ships and more than 90 aircraft to help deliver aid and emergency medical care to survivors of the quake, he said.

Military teams have handed out nearly two million bottles of water and about 1.5 million rations since the quake struck more than two weeks ago, he added.

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