Japan turns to Canadian crude as Asia feels Hormuz supply pinch

Uncertainty over crude oil supplies via the Strait of Hormuz is pushing Asian states towards Canada’s TMX crude oil.The first shipment of Canadian crude oil since 2025 is headed to Japan on a ship chartered by Exxon Mobil, according to data released by tracking firm Kpler.The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, Freedom Glory, which can carry up to 750,000 barrels of crude, left Vancouver on Wednesday, loaded with Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX) crude.The latest oil shipment from TMX Canada was bought by Japan’s largest refiner Eneos, according to Kpler.The last section of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project before operations began in 2024, near Laidlaw, British Columbia, Canada [Chris Helgren/Reuters]On Thursday, Tokyo cut its growth forecast for this year to 0.9 percent from 1.3 percent as a result of higher oil prices.Up until the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February, it had been importing more than 90 percent of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz.Now, Japan is among several Asian countries urgently attempting to diversify their suppliers, after the war choked oil shipments through Hormuz.Trans Mountain oilThe Trans Mountain pipeline carries up to 890,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Canada’s Alberta to a marine terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia.The pipeline is owned by the federal government, and has been running at almost 90 percent capacity since the third quarter of 2025.Exports via TMX to Asia accounted for nearly 77 percent of total oil exports from Vancouver this year, compared with about 51 percent in ⁠2024.India, Malaysia and Singapore have all returned to buying crude shipped via TMX since the war on Iran, while Canadian oil accounts for nearly 60 percent of US crude oil imports, according to the US Energy Information Administration.