Japan cannot survive without Russian oil… Where are the tough sanctions?

A Russian tanker
Photo: Tradewinds News

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, Bloomberg informs.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A METI official said the ministry checked with the US government and was told that Japan can use sanctioned ships for the import of oil from Sakhalin 2. The EU doesn’t have secondary sanctions, the official said, meaning that Japan can use such tankers without repercussions.

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.

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.

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

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.

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