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Iran War to Impact Shipping Long After It Ends, Mitsui Says
CEO Jotaro Tamura Says, 'We Will Not Go Gack to the World Where We Used To'
The impact of the Middle East conflict on the shipping industry and global supply chains will linger long after the war ends, according to the head of one of the world’s largest tanker owners.
“It’s a bit naive to say that, after this has ended, that things will go back to pre-war situations,” Jotaro Tamura, president and CEO of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., said in an interview in Singapore. “We will not go back to the world where we used to.”
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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the .U.S-Israeli war on Iran erupted at the end of February triggered the oil market’s worst-ever supply disruption, while also wreaking havoc on flows of aluminum and other shipments in and out of the Persian Gulf region.
The global shipping industry had already been shaken by conflicts after the Yemen-based Houthis forced ships to avoid the Red Sea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced vessels to take on longer journeys to avoid high-risk zones.
MOL, as the Tokyo-based owner of 211 tankers and hundreds of other types of vessels is known, currently has ships trapped inside the Persian Gulf. While it’s seeking to get the vessels out, the company has focused mostly on ensuring that crews have the support they need, with ample supply of food and freshwater, said Tamura.
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In the medium- to long-term, MOL expects its operations will be affected by how supply chains will shift, he said. In recent weeks, major economies in Asia, including Japan, have been turning away from the Middle East to other markets that export energy. Some Japanese refiners have resorted to using smaller vessels at a higher cost to secure US crude.
“That’s the price of supply chain resilience,” said Tamura. “The whole world has to consider the supply chain resilience for our security.”
