TOKYO, May 31. /TASS/. Another shipment of Russian oil has been delivered to Japan amid disruptions in energy supplies from the Middle East. The tanker Voyager, which delivered a batch of oil from Sakhalin to Japanese companies Taiyo Oil and Idemitsu Kosan in early May, has arrived at the Japanese company ENEOS’ terminal in the port of Kiire, according to ship tracking data seen by a TASS correspondent.

ENEOS previously told TASS that "considering the current situation in the Middle East, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry [of Japan] requested additional alternative oil supplies," which is why the purchase was made from Russia.

In early May, Taiyo Oil and Idemitsu Kosan told TASS about the purchase of a batch of Russian oil from Sakhalin. Japan has banned oil imports from Russia after 2022, but Japanese companies, at the request of the authorities, occasionally purchase small cargoes from the Sakhalin-2 project tied to LNG deliveries. Both Taiyo Oil and Idemitsu Kosan stated that this decision was made as part of diversifying supply sources. They did not disclose the volumes or details of the contract, but Koichi Hagiuda, the deputy secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said later that Japan recently purchased around 720,000 barrels of oil from Russia.

In recent years, Japan has relied on the Middle East for over 90% of its oil supplies, most of which passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Tokyo has stated it is seeking alternative supply sources, but Russia has not been named as a possible supplier. However, Shunichi Kito, head of the Petroleum Association of Japan and head of the Japanese company Idemitsu Kosan, has mentioned Russia as a possible alternative supplier.