The 13,500-ton supply ship Mashu from the MSDF Maizuru base in Kyoto Prefecture and the 4,550-ton destroyer Ikazuchi from the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture will begin their mission duties later this month or early next month, according to the government.

The new government led by the Democratic Party of Japan plans to withdraw from the refueling mission following the expiration of a special antiterrorism law in January.

Since the first dispatch of MSDF vessels in December 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Japan has provided around 24,000 kiloliters of fuel to ships from other countries involved in the U.S.-led operations aimed at cracking down on terrorists and drug smugglers.