Fate of Japan-Linked Ships in Persian Gulf Remains Uncertain

Tokyo, April 14 (Jiji Press)--It is becoming even more uncertain whether some 40 Japan-linked ships trapped in the Persian Gulf will be able to leave the area through the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transport waterway, in the near future.

After two-day U.S.-Iran talks held in Islamabad through Sunday to end the fighting between the two nations finished without an agreement, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump started blockading areas off Iran to prevent the entries and departures of Iranian ships.

Now that tensions in the region increased further, expectations for the passage through the strait that heightened after the two-week ceasefire agreed by Washington and Tehran April 7 dwindled rapidly.

"We don't know again how the situation will develop," a Japanese government official said regarding the outlook about the Japanese ships leaving the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. blockade is unlikely to have any direct impact on Japanese shipping companies, whose ships possibly do not travel to and from Iran amid ongoing economic sanctions on the country. Still, an informed source said, "The situation in the Strait of Hormuz deteriorated further."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]