Half-Full Tanker Heading to Japan Highlights Scramble for Oil

By Weilun Soon, Tsuyoshi Inajima and Yuji Okada

Apr 16, 2026 (Bloomberg) –A partially filled supertanker heading to Japan after receiving its Middle Eastern oil cargo via a ship transfer at sea highlights the desperate measures the nation’s refiners are taking to secure supply quickly. 

The Bright Horizon, a very-large crude carrier, is currently sailing south from waters off Mumbai, signaling Japan’s Kiire as its destination, according to ship-tracking data. The tanker received the cargo of Omani oil from a Suezmax called Shenlong on Monday through an offshore transfer.

Japan has been in a race to secure crude supplies after the Iran war led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, choking off shipments from its main suppliers in the Persian Gulf. The nation’s refiners are speeding up deliveries from the US by opting for smaller oil tankers that can transit the Panama Canal, rather than larger ships that need to take a longer trip around Africa.

The case of the Bright Horizon is unusual because it’s less economic for a tanker to travel to a single destination partially loaded. Freight costs have also jumped due to the Middle East conflict, which will add to the expense.

The offshore transfer of crude to the Bright Horizon is the third observed ship-to-ship cargo movement involving Japanese-owned tankers in recent weeks. The nation is relying on these maneuvers to secure oil supplies and keep vessels out of a conflict zone that has become too risky for ships.

That reluctance to dispatch vessels, including to ports in the Red Sea far from the current conflict zone, is exacerbating Japan’s crude shortage. Tokyo is planning to release around 20 days worth of oil from its national reserves in May, in addition to what it has promised previously.

ENEOS Ocean Corp., a unit of Japanese refiner Eneos Holdings Inc. that runs an oil terminal in Kiire, lists Bright Horizon as part of its fleet. A spokesperson for Eneos Holdings declined to comment.

The tanker Shenlong was one of the first big vessels to exit the Persian Gulf in early March. It delivered its cargo to Mumbai soon after, and then made a trip to Oman to pick up the crude that was transferred to Bright Horizon.

© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

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This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.

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