Japan’s Taiyo Oil Imports Russian Crude on US-Sanctioned Tanker

The US-sanctioned oil tanker Voyager carries a cargo of crude from Russia's Sakhalin 2 project to Japan. via Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — The Japanese oil refiner Taiyo Oil Co. is taking delivery of a cargo of Russian crude on a tanker that’s blacklisted by both the US Treasury and the European Union. 

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While Japan has a waiver to buy the oil in question, the delivery — the nation’s first in over two years from Russia — speaks to a growing ease among buyers around the world in dealing with Moscow as the war in Ukraine rages for a fourth year.

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Tokyo-based Taiyo is receiving 600,000 barrels of Sakhalin Blend crude from a tanker called the Voyager, vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. It loaded from the Prigorodnoye terminal at the southern tip of Sakhalin Island, off Russia’s east coast, on May 25.

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Japan’s waivers permits Sakhalin Blend imports on energy-security grounds. The waiver was extended until late June 2026 in the EU’s 17th sanctions package on Russia on May 21. There’s also a US waiver that expires on June 28 that is normally extended. 

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Still, the fact a Group-of-Seven nation taking delivery on a blacklisted ship will underscore perceptions that Donald Trump’s administration is keen to keep Moscow’s petroleum flowing.

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A spokesman for Taiyo Oil confirmed the shipment and said it purchased the crude following a request from Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry. Output of a Japan-backed liquefied natural gas project would have been affected if it couldn’t ship crude because the two hydrocarbons are produced simultaneously, the spokesman said.

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METI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The Voyager moored at the Japanese port of Kikuma on Monday to offload a cargo of crude from Russia’s Sakhalin 2 project, vessel tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.

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More Comfortable

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Before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Japanese refiners imported an average four cargoes a month from the Sakhalin 2 project. 

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Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corporation retained their respective 12.5% and 10% stakes in the project when Moscow set up a new ownership structure later that year. Despite that, Japan — like other buyers — stepped back.

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Some importers of Russian crude have been reluctant to accept cargoes carried on OFAC-sanctioned ships, with many remaining idle for months after being blacklisted. But that hesitation appears to be waning since Trump came to power.

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Shipments to India, for example, have been largely unrestrained despite prior pledges from that country to heed US measures. 

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Likewise, since late January, at least 20 cargoes of Russian crude have been delivered to buyers in China and Syria on ships sanctioned by the US. Many more of have completed part of their voyages on OFAC-listed ships before being transferred onto unsanctioned vessels for the final delivery leg.

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The US Office of Foreign Assets Control included the Voyager, previously called the Vernadsky Prospect, in a list of 161 tankers sanctioned by outgoing President Joe Biden in January.  The EU blacklisted the vessel the following month.

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It noted at the time that Sovcomflot had sought to circumvent sanctions by transferring the management of some of its tankers, including that of the Voyager, to two ship managers based in the United Arab Emirates.

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Sovcomflot didn’t respond to a request for a comment.

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