Japan imports first Canadian oil since 2025 via TMX pipeline

A tanker carrying Canadian crude oil departed Vancouver on July 29, 2026, bound for Japan, marking the first such shipment since 2025. The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel Freedom Glory, chartered by Exxon Mobil, can hold up to 750,000 barrels and was loaded with oil from the Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX), according to tracking firm Kpler. Japan’s largest refiner, Eneos, purchased the cargo, Kpler reported. The shipment comes as Asian nations scramble to find alternatives to Middle Eastern oil after the US-Israel war on Iran, which began in February, disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, Japan sourced more than 90 percent of its oil via that chokepoint. On July 30, Tokyo slashed its 2026 growth forecast to 0.9 percent from 1.3 percent, citing higher oil prices. The TMX pipeline, owned by Canada’s federal government, moves up to 890,000 barrels per day from Alberta to Burnaby, British Columbia, and has operated at nearly 90 percent capacity since the third quarter of 2025. Exports to Asia through TMX have surged to almost 77 percent of total Vancouver oil shipments this year, up from about 51 percent in 2024. India, Malaysia, and Singapore have also resumed buying TMX crude since the Iran war, while Canadian oil now accounts for nearly 60 percent of US crude imports, per the US Energy Information Administration. Despite the strategic importance, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated he will not use oil as leverage in trade talks with Washington, even after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Canadian goods last week. Carney emphasized reliability, saying, “Canadians can be trusted. And so, when you’re a supplier of a key commodity… you gotta think really hard about not supplying.”