European insurers stopped offering cover on Iranian crude when the sanctions imposed by the European Union took effect last week, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The ban forced Tokyo to decrease oil shipments from Iran despite an increase in the country’s overall demand, but the country is now expanding the maritime coverage of its insurers, which means more Japanese tankers will transport Iranian crude.
Industrial sources who insisted to remain unidentified said that Japanese insurers have raised their cargo and hull cover for tankers carrying Iranian crude to USD 491 million, 30 percent higher than an initial plan unveiled in April.
Cargo and hull insurance protects ships and their contents against physical damage.
The measure will allow two supertankers, instead of one, to transport Iranian oil at one time and boost the country's shipping capacity from Iran to over 200,000 barrel per day.
Japan, Iran's third biggest oil buyer, vies to keep Iranian crude flowing despite Western sanctions, while world oil prices have jumped.
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