Fees for safe‑passage through Hormuz
Under the new two‑week ceasefire framework between Iran and the United States, both Iran and Oman are planning to levy fees on merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint through which roughly one‑fifth of global oil and LNG flows. Regional officials and media reports indicate that Tehran intends to use the revenue primarily to rebuild infrastructure damaged by U.S. and Israeli strikes, while Oman’s planned use of the funds remains unclear.
How the fees are being framed
Iran has floated the idea of a fixed fee of about $2 million per vessel as part of its broader peace‑and‑reconstruction proposal, although the exact tariff structure and division of revenue between Iran and Oman are still being negotiated. Proponents inside the talks describe the fee regime as a quid‑pro‑quo: in exchange for guaranteeing safe passage through the Strait during the ceasefire, the two littoral states gain a new income stream from shipping that has been severely disrupted by the war.
Legal and commercial implications
The move directly challenges established norms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which treats international straits like Hormuz as free‑transit corridors rather than toll‑points. Critics argue that charging ships for passage could set a precedent that other chokepoints might copy, potentially raising global shipping costs and deepening disputes over freedom of navigation.
At the same time, major energy‑importing countries are watching closely, because even a short‑lived but orderly fee‑based transit system through Hormuz may encourage a partial return of tanker traffic that has fled the region since the war began.
