A supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude will dock in Nagoya on May 25, becoming the first vessel to deliver Middle Eastern oil to Japan through the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war erupted on February 28. Japan's April crude imports from the region collapsed by 67.2%, according to Finance Ministry data cited by Bloomberg, forcing the world's fourth-largest economy to tap strategic reserves and hunt for alternative suppliers.
The Idemitsu Maru departed Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura port in mid-March. For weeks it navigated waters where Iranian forces and a U.S. naval blockade have turned the world's most critical oil chokepoint into a militarized zone. MarineTraffic data showed the very large crude carrier nearing Japan's coastline early Friday.
Its destination: the Aichi refinery operated by Idemitsu Kosan. That refinery needs crude. Japan's refineries have been starving.
A second tanker is right behind it. The Eneos Endeavor cleared Hormuz last week and is now in the Malacca Strait. It left Kuwait's Mina Al Ahmadi terminal on February 28 — the exact day hostilities began.
MarineTraffic data projects a May 30 arrival in Kiire, Japan. Two tankers do not solve a supply crisis. But they signal something.
The blockade is not absolute. "The cargo is destined for the Aichi refinery of local refiner Idemitsu Kosan," Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry stated in a briefing document obtained by Bloomberg. That ministry has been at the center of Tokyo's frantic energy diplomacy since late February. Japan's vulnerability is not new.
It is structural. More than 90% of its crude imports historically transited Hormuz. When Iran moved to block the strait and the U.S. responded with its own blockade in the Gulf of Oman to choke Iranian exports, Japan's supply lines snapped.
The April import data tells the story in numbers: a 67.2% year-on-year drop in Middle Eastern crude arrivals. That is the lowest monthly volume recorded since 1979. "Japan in April imported the lowest volume of crude oil from the Middle East on record dating back to 1979," OilPrice reported, citing provisional trade data from Japan's Finance Ministry released Thursday. The 1979 benchmark matters.
That was the year of the Iranian Revolution and the second oil shock. Japan has not seen disruption this severe in 47 years. The policy says one thing.
The reality says another. Tokyo's response has been three-pronged. First, release crude from strategic petroleum reserves.
Japan holds roughly 470 million barrels in state and private stocks — enough to cover over 200 days of normal consumption. Second, accelerate purchases from alternative producers. Third, diplomatic pressure on all parties to reopen the strait.
None of these fully replaces 90% of supply. India is running the same playbook. OilPrice noted in a separate report that New Delhi is "exploring alternative energy sources amid oil supply shock." China faces its own constraints, with fuel exports remaining low as domestic curbs persist.
The world's three largest Asian importers are all recalibrating simultaneously. The Strait of Hormuz normally handles about 20 million barrels per day — roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption. Its effective closure has rewired energy markets.
Brent crude rallied toward $120 per barrel. The UAE quit OPEC and OPEC+, OilPrice reported, as the crisis dragged on and cartel politics fractured under the strain. Venezuela's oil exports hit a seven-year high as desperate buyers turned to Caracas despite U.S. sanctions.
Three supertankers carrying 6 million barrels exited Hormuz in a separate development, OilPrice noted. A first LNG tanker also broke the blockade. These are not normal commercial flows.
They are trickles through a bottleneck that used to be a river. The European Union issued its own warning. Energy prices will stay elevated through 2027, Brussels told member states.
The war's economic scarring will outlast any ceasefire. What this actually means for your family. Japanese households face higher electricity bills, more expensive gasoline, and rising costs for goods that depend on petrochemical feedstocks.
The same dynamic plays out from Berlin to Bangkok. The oil supply shock is not abstract. Idemitsu Kosan's Aichi refinery processes roughly 160,000 barrels per day.
The Idemitsu Maru's 2-million-barrel cargo represents less than two weeks of that single facility's throughput. Japan's total daily crude consumption runs around 3.2 million barrels. Two tankers provide temporary relief.
They do not restore energy security. "The Oil Supply Shock Will Scar the World for Years," OilPrice headlined one analysis. The publication noted that infrastructure funds now capture 77% of new climate capital — a sign that investors are betting on a structural shift away from fossil fuel exposure, not a temporary price spike. The Strait of Hormuz crisis has already triggered the UAE's exit from OPEC, pushed Venezuela back into global markets, and forced Asian importers to compete for cargoes from Angola to Alaska.
If the blockade persists through summer driving season, the economic damage will compound. If it eases, the question becomes whether pre-war supply patterns ever fully return. Both sides claim victory.
Here are the numbers. Iran's uranium red line has added a nuclear dimension to the crisis. Oil prices rise with each escalation.
The system that moved Middle Eastern crude for decades relied on assumptions about U.S. naval dominance and Iranian rationalism. Those assumptions are now in doubt. Key Takeaways: - The Idemitsu Maru is the first tanker to deliver Middle East crude to Japan via Hormuz since the Iran war began February 28, carrying 2 million barrels for Idemitsu Kosan's Aichi refinery. - Japan's April crude imports from the Middle East fell 67.2% year-on-year to the lowest level since 1979, forcing Tokyo to tap strategic reserves and seek alternative suppliers. - The EU warns elevated energy prices will persist through 2027, while the UAE's OPEC exit and Venezuela's export surge show how the crisis is reshaping global oil politics.
Watch what happens in the next 30 days. The Eneos Endeavor's May 30 arrival will test whether the Idemitsu Maru's passage was a one-off or the start of a fragile corridor. Japan's May import data, due in late June, will reveal whether April's collapse was the bottom or the beginning of a deeper slide.
But the system has already broken, and the repairs will take years.
Key Takeaways
— The Idemitsu Maru is the first tanker to deliver Middle East crude to Japan via Hormuz since the Iran war began February 28, carrying 2 million barrels for Idemitsu Kosan's Aichi refinery.
— Japan's April crude imports from the Middle East fell 67.2% year-on-year to the lowest level since 1979, forcing Tokyo to tap strategic reserves and seek alternative suppliers.
— A second tanker, the Eneos Endeavor, cleared Hormuz last week and is expected in Kiire on May 30, but two cargoes cannot replace the 90% of Japanese crude that historically transited the strait.
— The EU warns elevated energy prices will persist through 2027, while the UAE's OPEC exit and Venezuela's export surge show how the crisis is reshaping global oil politics.
Source: OilPrice
