For the first time, Japan has placed individual vessels under sanctions, naming 35 ships tied to Russian oil exports in a package that restricts maritime services and financing.
The Japanese Government said the vessel measures are intended to reduce Russian revenue from crude oil exports. The restrictions cover repairs and insurance, as well as maritime transport and the employment and dispatch of crew.
The measures operate through a permission system under Japan’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. Permission is required to provide specified services to ships designated in a Ministry of Foreign Affairs notice, which identifies the vessels by IMO number.
Loans and debt guarantees connected with the sale, purchase, lease or charter of the designated ships also require permission.
The measures apply to obligations performed, or services or benefits provided, on or after October 2, 2026, when the government announced the sanctions. Contracts concluded before that date qualify for a temporary exception, provided the obligations are performed or the services or benefits are supplied before November 1, 2026.
The designated group comprises 13 Oman-registered crude oil tankers, 17 Russian-flagged vessels, and five tankers with false flags or no known registry. Most of the Russian-flagged ships are crude oil tankers, another is a product tanker, while four are cargo vessels including Ro-Ro ships.
The wider package adds 33 Russian entities and nine individuals to Japan’s asset-freeze measures. Payments to those designated parties require permission, as do capital transactions involving contracts for deposits, trusts and money loans.
Japan also prohibited exports to four entities in Turkey and the UAE. The government additionally expanded export restrictions to cover items that could bolster Russian industrial capacity.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the package.
“In effect, the sanctioned individuals and companies pose a common threat to our nations, and to Europe and the Pacific in general, as they are working to sustain Russia’s war machine,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post.
Japan had previously added Russian companies and individuals to its sanctions list and lowered its cap on Russian seaborne crude.
Jiji Press described the ships targeted by Japan as part of a “shadow fleet” carrying Russian oil and helping Moscow evade sanctions. Shadow fleet tankers are often older vessels with opaque ownership and without top-tier insurance cover.