First Canadian crude cargo since 2025 heads to Japan as Asia tests alternatives to Hormuz

According to data from cargo-tracking firm Kpler, the first shipment of Canadian crude oil since 2025 is on its way to Japan. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Freedom Glory, which can carry up to 750,000 barrels, left Vancouver on Wednesday, 29 July 2026 (7 Mordad 1405) loaded with Trans Mountain pipeline crude. The vessel was chartered by Exxon Mobil and the cargo was bought by Eneos, Japan's largest refiner.

The Trans Mountain pipeline carries up to 890,000 barrels a day of crude from Alberta to a marine terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia, and has run at almost 90 percent of capacity since the third quarter of 2025. Exports via the route to Asia have accounted for nearly 77 percent of total oil exports from Vancouver this year, against about 51 percent in 2024. India, Malaysia and Singapore have also returned to buying crude shipped on this route since the war began.

Until the US and Israeli war on Iran began in February, Japan imported more than 90 percent of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera reported that on Thursday, 30 July, Tokyo cut its growth forecast for this year to 0.9 percent from 1.3 percent as a result of higher oil prices.