May 17, 2012. Japan may seek approval from parliament to provide sovereign insurance to tanker operators that import Iranian crude as European sanctions block access to private providers. The cabinet will make a proposal to the DIET, or national parliament. The government wants to provide as much as $7.6 billion in cover. The Japan Ship Owners' Mutual P&I Association, the body that covers owners against the risk of oil spills and tanker collisions, is likely to lose access to Europe's reinsurance market after the sanctions come into force July 1.