“The passage of ships linked to Japan through the Strait of Hormuz has been requested repeatedly,” said an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – who was not identified by NHK – noting that, from the perspective of Japanese diplomacy, “this can be considered a diplomatic success.”
Another government source cited by NHK, also unnamed, pointed out that other ships still cannot freely pass through this crucial strait.
“To ensure a stable energy supply for Japan, we must continue to demand that all countries guarantee freedom of navigation and the safety of their ships,” the source stated.
Although the Japanese company declined to comment on the ship’s situation for security reasons, according to a statement released by NHK, the tracking website MarineTraffic indicated that the tanker Idemitsu Maru was in the Gulf of Oman today at 12:30 p.m. local time (11:00 a.m. in Macau), after passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and is expected to arrive in the Japanese city of Nagoya in mid-May.
Read more: Japan calls on Iran to protect ships in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s state-run Press TV reported on Tuesday evening that the Idemitsu Maru, a Panamanian-flagged vessel operated by a subsidiary of the Japanese refinery Idemitsu Kosan and loaded with crude oil in Saudi Arabia last March, had crossed into Iranian waters.
“The passage required coordination with Tehran,” Press TV reported. However, Japanese official sources assured NHK that Tokyo did not pay any fees to Iran.
The Islamic Republic has maintained strict control over maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of the world’s oil and other products vital to the global economy normally flow—since the start of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28. In response, Washington imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports beginning April 13.
U.S. President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Tehran indefinitely last week in order to promote a dialogue that, for the time being, has stalled, after the president himself canceled the trip of U.S. envoys to Pakistan for a second round of talks with the Iranians.
