A Panama-flagged crude oil tanker managed by Japanese refining group Eneos 5020.T has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data from LSEG showed on Thursday, the second instance of such a Japan-linked ship making it through.
Before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran largely disrupted oil supplies via the Strait of Hormuz, Japan relied on the Gulf for about 95% of its oil imports.
The Eneos-managed tanker is carrying 1.2 million barrels of Kuwait crude and 700,000 barrels of Emirati Das Blend oil loaded in late February, Kpler data showed. The vessel is expected to arrive in Japan on June 3, according to Kpler.
It was not immediately clear under what arrangements the tanker sailed through the Strait. Eneos, Japan's biggest refining group, declined to comment.
Tokyo has stepped up diplomatic efforts since the conflict, and switched to alternatives to partially substitute for the lost barrels, while holding down domestic fuel prices with massive government subsidies.
The latest passage through the Strait follows one in late April by the Idemitsu Maru, carrying Saudi oil and managed by a unit of Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan 5019.T.
Idemitsu, Japan's second biggest oil refining group, said this week it expected Hormuz to reopen sometime between July and September, with benchmark Dubai oil prices declining to pre-war levels by the March 2027 end of the next fiscal year.
As Japanese refineries tap strategic stockpiles and ramp up alternative supplies from locations such as the United States and the Caspian region, refinery runs started to normalise this month, surpassing 70% for the first time since late March.
A Chinese supertanker carrying Iraqi crude sailed through the Strait on Wednesday, exiting the Gulf just before a Beijing summit of U.S. and Chinese leaders over the following two days.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi visited Beijing last week.
Reuters
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