"Sanctions that Benefit....Who?" - Japan Set to Load First Iran Crude with Sovereign Insurance.

"Sanctions that Benefit....Who?" - Japan Set to Load First Iran Crude with Sovereign Insurance.(Fars).Japan will load its first Iranian crude cargo backed by sovereign guarantees, a move showing that the EU and US sanctions against Iran have failed to convince the country's major crude buyers to stop business with Iran. JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. (5020) and Idemitsu Kosan Co. (5019) will load about 1.7 million barrels of Iranian crude on the very large crude carrier Ryuho Maru on about July 20 at Kharg Island, the country's biggest oil-export terminal, according to three officials from the refiners and Japan's trade ministry, Bloomberg reported. The tanker, owned by Iino Kaiun Kaisha Ltd. (9119), will be backed by the Japanese state, they said, asking not to be identified because the information is confidential. Japan's Iranian crude imports will fall in July because refiners were unsure whether the sovereign insurance would be available when they planned July-loading schedules last month, the officials said. Japan's parliament passed a bill on June 20 to provide $7.6 billion of guarantees to tanker owners that carry Iranian oil. The program gives ship owners sovereign guarantees to replace reinsurance that Japan's P and I club previously obtained under a claims-sharing agreement with the London-based International Group of P and I Clubs, according to a statement from the transport ministry. The coverage protects against third- party liability and environmental accidents. South Korea is also considering resumption of Iranian crude imports after Tehran offered to ship and insure the oil to get around the impact of EU sanctions, two Korean government sources said on Friday. Among other key Asian buyers of Iranian crude, India has given state-run insurers approval to provide cover to its ships transporting Iran's oil, while China, the top buyer of Iranian crude, has said that it would not heed the western sanctions and would continued imports from Iran.Hmmmm......I hate to say it but so far it's the European economy who's hardest hit.........While Turkey makes the biggest gains.Read the full story here.