Japan submits Iran tanker insurance bill

Target: The bill will see Japan insure tankers coming from Iran as a ban on export insurance is set to be introduced.

AP/SCANPIX

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News Wires

 12 June 2012 06:07 GMT

Japan's government submitted a special bill to parliament on Monday to allow it to provide insurance for Iranian crude imports, making it the first country to attempt to initiate sovereign cover once European Union sanctions on Iran start in July.

The insurance scheme would enable the Japanese government to provide direct payments of up to $7.6 billion in the event of a critical incident involving a tanker carrying Iranian crude bound for Japan, the transport ministry said in a statement.

Japan intends to keep importing oil from Iran but attempts to be exempted from the European Union's ban on insurance and reinsurance of Iranian oil exports have so far failed, Reuters reported.

Japan's crude purchases from Iran have fallen sharply, despite an increase in overall oil demand after last year's Fukushima disaster shut…

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