JAPAN NEWS


 

A Japan-linked vessel that had been stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has passed through the waterway and is now sailing toward Japan, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Sources close to the Japanese government said that no transit fee was paid to the Iranian side to allow the vessel to pass through the strait.

The vessel, the Idemitsu Maru, has three Japanese crew members aboard.
According to the sources, the ship is a tanker owned by a subsidiary of Idemitsu Kosan Co., a major Japanese oil wholesaler.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi posted on X on Wednesday that she regarded the news as “a positive move, including from the standpoint of protecting Japanese nationals.”

“We will continue urging the Iranian side to allow the passage of vessels from all countries, including the remaining Japan-linked ships,” she added.

The Japanese government has repeatedly conveyed to Iran that it is essential to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible.

On Tuesday, PressTV, an outlet affiliated with Iranian state television, reported, “A Japanese-owned supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil has successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz after securing permission from Iranian authorities.”

That amount is about one day’s worth of oil consumption in Japan.
It is thought that a total of three Japan-linked vessels have passed through the strait since the United States and Israel began its attacks on Iran in late February, but PressTV said the Idemitsu Maru was believed to be the first crude oil tanker to do so.

According to the report, the tanker had been anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates for more than a week before it began sailing through the strait on Monday night. It had reportedly loaded crude oil in Saudi Arabia in early March.

According to MarineTraffic, a public vessel-tracking website, a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker named Idemitsu Maru passed through the Strait of Hormuz and, as of Wednesday night Japan time, was sailing in the Arabian Sea. The ship is believed to be the Idemitsu Maru and is reportedly headed for the Port of Nagoya.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that one Japanese crew member had disembarked from a Japan-linked vessel still in the Persian Gulf and returned to Japan.

About 40 Japan-linked vessels remain in the gulf, with 12 Japanese crew members still aboard.