Following recent strikes by the United States and Israel, Tehran rapidly moved to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery for global energy supplies. The blockade immediately triggered a worldwide surge in fuel prices and maritime insurance premiums. Now, emerging reports indicate that Iran is demanding up to $2 million (€1.7 million) per vessel to guarantee "safe" passage through the waterway.
By effectively converting the strait—which handles one-fifth of the world's oil and gas reserves—into a high-risk toll booth, Tehran is reshaping maritime commerce. Lloyd's List, a highly respected maritime journal, reported last week that at least one tanker is suspected of having already paid the exorbitant fee.
While several Iranian regime officials have publicly denied these reports, domestic broadcasts tell a different story. Speaking on Iranian state television, Member of Parliament Aladdin Boroujerdi framed the fees as part of a "new sovereign order" in the strait, explicitly describing the tolls as a mechanism to cover Iran's mounting war costs.
This move threatens the core tenets of international maritime law. "The freedom of the seas, the right to transit areas unimpeded, is the foundation of international maritime trade," stated Robert Huebert, an international relations expert at the University of Calgary, during a Tuesday podcast for Energi Media. Huebert warned that imposing transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz would inevitably face "direct resistance from almost all states in the world."
The blockade has created a massive logistical nightmare, with over 3,200 cargo ships currently stranded near the Persian Gulf. Peter Sand, chief analyst at the maritime analytics firm Xeneta, told DW that the fee itself is not the primary barrier to reopening the shipping lane. "As high as the fee may seem, it doesn't play a central role," Sand explained. "The crucial factor is that it is still far too unsafe to pass through the strait."
Nevertheless, the willingness of major oil and gas importers to negotiate directly and pay millions on top of astronomical insurance premiums highlights a profound desperation for fuel. "Some countries may be willing to pay," Sand added. "It is ultimately a small final price to pay for a certain degree of supply security."
How these multimillion-dollar transactions are being processed remains a mystery. Due to stringent international sanctions against Iran, transferring US dollars through Western financial channels is virtually impossible. According to Lloyd's List, nations such as India, Pakistan, Iraq, Malaysia, and China are bypassing traditional routes and negotiating directly with Iranian representatives to secure their vessels.
Bloomberg corroborated the existence of the toll, citing unnamed sources who confirmed that multiple ships have paid, though the collection does not appear to be systematic yet. One source suggested Tehran is considering formalizing the fee as part of a broader peace plan with the US and Israel.
In a recent diplomatic maneuver, Iran sent a letter on Tuesday to the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO), declaring its intent to allow "non-hostile ships" to transit the strait in coordination with Tehran. "So far, Iran has approved between three and five passages per day," noted Xeneta's Sand. "Now Tehran is claiming the strait is open to anyone who is not an enemy of Iran."
Meanwhile, the humanitarian toll on stranded crews is mounting. An IMO spokesperson informed DW that the organization is urgently pursuing "provisional and urgent measures" to ensure the safe departure of commercial vessels stuck in the Gulf. The immediate priority, the spokesperson emphasized, is safeguarding the lives and well-being of the trapped seafarers before the regional crisis deteriorates further.
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