Four Japan-linked vessels remain in gulf
Meanwhile, 22 Japan-linked vessels, including six large crude oil tankers, transited the strait to exit between July 7 and 9, leaving only four vessels in the gulf, Japan transport minister Yasushi Kaneko told a news conference on Friday.
Asked how vessel safety had been ensured, an official at the transport ministry’s overseas shipping division declined to comment, citing security concerns.
The number of Japan-linked vessels in the gulf has dropped from 45 with about 1,100 crew members at the start of the conflict to four vessels with about 100 crew members, according to a spokesperson for the Japanese Shipowners’ Association.
(Reporting by Emily Chow in Singapore and Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Florence Tan and Siyi Liu in Singapore and Hina Suzuki in Tokyo; Editing by Tom Hogue and Thomas Derpinghaus)