A statement has emerged from a local government official indicating that the destination of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier owned by Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, which passed through the Strait of Hormuz, is not Japan. This marks the first passage by a Japanese-affiliated vessel since the Iran War.

Strait of Hormuz (illustration) [Reuters Yonhap News]

According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 4th, a Japanese government official stated that the destination of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines' Panama-flagged vessel, the 'SOHAR LNG', which had been anchored in the Gulf and exited the Strait of Hormuz the previous day, is not Japan. The official added that the Japanese government was not involved in negotiations for the vessel's passage.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines confirmed the safety of the crew after the vessel passed through the Strait of Hormuz but did not disclose the circumstances of its passage.

Previously, 45 Japanese-affiliated vessels had been anchored in the Gulf, unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran War.

Kyodo News reported, citing the Japan Shipowners' Association, that the number of Japanese-affiliated vessels anchored in the Gulf has now decreased to 44 with the departure of the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines LNG carrier from the Strait of Hormuz.