An official gives lectures on the crude oil release operation as a tanker is moored at the Shirashima National Petroleum Stockpiling Base in Kitakyushu, southwestern Japan, March 27, 2026, as the Japanese government started releasing state-held oil to stabilise supplies, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN.
By Stephen Stapczynski
May 22, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Japan — one of Asia’s biggest importers of energy from the Middle East — flagged the impending arrival of the first Persian Gulf oil shipment to transit the contested Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war began.
The Idemitsu Maru, a very large crude carrier that passed through the waterway in late April, could dock as soon as Monday, according to the trade ministry. Hauling 2 million barrels of Saudi crude, the vessel is on track to arrive at Idemitsu Kosan Co.’s Aichi refinery, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a briefing document on Friday.
The war in the Middle East has led to the near-total closure of the maritime chokepoint, triggering an unprecedented energy supply shock and prompting mainstay importers across Asia to scour the globe for alternative crude and natural gas shipments. Along with other developed nations, Japan also moved to tap strategic reserves to cushion itself from the impact of the conflict.
While a handful of vessels have managed to navigate Hormuz, the overall tally of daily passages remains at a fraction of the pre-war total. Tehran is discussing with Oman how to set up a toll system to formalize its control of the conduit, the Iranian ambassador to France told Bloomberg this week.
A second Japan-linked tanker, the Eneos Endeavor, also crossed the chokepoint earlier in May. The Eneos Endeavor was not mentioned in the briefing.
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.
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Full oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz will not return before the first or second quarter of 2027, even if the Middle East conflict ended now, the head of the United Arab Emirates' state oil firm ADNOC said.
A new crude oil pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz and which the United Arab Emirates began building last year is now 50% complete, the CEO of state oil giant ADNOC, Sultan Al Jaber, said on Wednesday.
The United Arab Emirates will double its capacity to export crude oil bypassing the Strait of Hormuz by next year, as it seeks to reduce reliance on the shipping chokepoint.
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