US crude oil tanker makes landmark delivery to Japan

TOKYO: A tanker carrying about 910,000 barrels of US-produced crude oil from Texas arrived in Tokyo Bay on Sunday (April 26), Japanese media reported.

The arrival marks the completion of a roughly 35-day voyage through the Panama Canal, in one of the largest direct US crude deliveries to Japan in years.

The cargo aboard the tanker M/V Otis marks a notable shift in global energy flows as buyers seek alternatives to Middle Eastern supplies amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint for world oil shipments.

The crude is expected to be piped ashore to Cosmo Oil Co.’s Chiba refinery, where it will be processed into gasoline and other products.

Japan, which normally imports more than 90% of its oil from the Middle East, has moved to diversify its sources as tensions in the region affect shipping and supply security, government officials said.

The long haul from the US Gulf Coast underscores how international buyers are rerouting cargoes, despite higher transport costs and congestion at alternative passages like the Panama Canal.

Recent industry reports show transit fees and waiting times in the canal have surged as vessels avoid the Persian Gulf and seek longer routes to Asia.

Energy analysts say such deliveries will likely remain a feature of global markets as refiners grapple with supply uncertainty and seek to hedge against geopolitical risk.

The Cosmo tanker, loaded in Texas on March 22, was also due to arrive off Chiba as early as Sunday (​April 26) via the Panama Canal, Narumi Hosokawa, deputy director-general ​for immediate crisis management at the Ministry of Economy, ⁠Trade and Industry (METI), told reporters in Tokyo on Friday.

On April 17, 2026, Bloomberg reported that oil tankers hauling US crude via Panama approached a four-year high."

The surge in US crude exports to Asia comes amid the on-going Strait of Hormuz tensions.