Middle East Tensions Disrupt Maritime Transport to Japan

Tokyo, March 7 (Jiji Press)--The U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran have paralyzed maritime shipping between the Middle East and Japan, disrupting both imports to and exports from the Asian country.

Ocean Network Express, a container shipping company jointly owned by Japan's Nippon Yusen K.K., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., has stopped accepting bookings for new cargo to and from the Persian Gulf.

The impact of the shipping freeze is spreading, with some Japanese automakers considering cutting production due to stalled exports.

Japan relies on the Middle East for 90 pct of its crude oil imports, most of which are transported by tankers that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively closed the strait, leaving 45 Japan-related vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf as of Friday.

As tankers that passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the closure are expected to arrive in Japan within about 20 to 30 days, it will take some time before Japanese crude oil imports are completely cut off. Nevertheless, major shipping companies are growing increasingly anxious, with an official saying, "There is no alternative (to maritime transport) for procuring crude oil."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]