Another Japan-Linked Oil Tanker Passes through Strait of Hormuz

Tokyo, May 14 (Jiji Press)–An oil tanker owned by a group company of Japanese oil distributor Eneos Corp. has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The Eneos Endeavor became the second Japan-related oil tanker to pass the strait since the waterway was effectively closed by Iran, following a vessel owned by a unit of Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co. Eneos declined to discuss details, including the ship’s location, citing safety reasons. As of Monday, 40 Japan-linked ships had remained in the Persian Gulf. The Panama-flagged Eneos Endeavor is currently sailing in the Gulf of Oman toward the Indian Ocean, according to MarineTraffic, a ship tracking service, and other sources. Its destination is unknown. The vessel was docked at a port in Kuwait as of Feb. 28, when the war in Iran began, and at a port on the Persian Gulf coast in the United Arab Emirates in late April. Idemitsu Kosan’s Idemitsu Maru, which left the Persian Gulf in late April, has already passed through the Malacca Strait and is scheduled to arrive at the Port of Nagoya in the central Japan prefecture of Aichi on May 25. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]