NAGOYA - The crude oil tanker "Idemitsu Maru," which passed through the Strait of Hormuz, is scheduled to arrive at Nagoya Port around noon on May 25th, drawing attention as Japan faces a sharp decline in crude imports from the Middle East following the effective closure of the strategic waterway.
Trade statistics released on May 21st showed that imports of crude oil from the Middle East had fallen by nearly 70%, with the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz cited as the primary cause. Against that backdrop, the return of the Idemitsu Maru is being viewed as an important development for Japan’s future energy supply situation.
As of now, the tanker has already reached waters south of Shikoku and is steadily heading toward Nagoya.
The crude oil will be unloaded at Idemitsu Kosan’s Aichi Refinery, where 25 storage tanks provide a combined storage capacity of roughly 2 million kiloliters. That volume is equivalent to approximately six days of Japan’s crude oil consumption based on simple calculations.
While it may appear that the tanker would dock directly at the refinery, the unloading process actually takes place at the offshore facility known as the Ise Bay Sea Berth. From there, crude oil is transported through a 9-kilometer undersea pipeline to the refinery’s storage tanks at a rate of about 10,000 kiloliters per hour.
The unloading operation itself is expected to take around two days. Afterward, the refining process requires approximately 10 more days before the crude oil is converted into gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and naphtha.
As a result, fuel derived from the Idemitsu Maru shipment is expected to begin reaching gas stations and other distributors in about two weeks.
Meanwhile, another tanker, ENEOS’s "Endeavor," is also heading toward Japan, although around 40 vessels are still reportedly stranded near the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: CBC
