Japanese Refiners Buy Middle East Crude Through Ship-to-Ship Transfers

Several Japanese oil tankers are returning to the Middle East to pick up crude cargoes for Japan’s refineries, but none of these are moving into the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, a rising number of Japan-owned or Japan-bound tankers , most of which have steered clear of the Middle East since the Iran war began , are returning to waters in the Gulf of Oman to participate in ship-to-ship (STS) transfers offshore Oman or Fujairah, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, quoting shipbrokers and tanker-tracking data. For…