Iran Charges $2M Transit Fee for Strait of Hormuz

THE WIRE, March 28 — March 24, 2026 DUBAI — Iran has begun charging commercial vessels up to $2 million per voyage to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported on March 24, transforming the world s most critical maritime chokepoint into a wartime toll road controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The ad hoc fee regime, confirmed by an Iranian lawmaker on state television, marks the first time a nation has imposed unilateral transit charges on an international strait in modern maritime history — and Tehran s parliament is now drafting legislation to make the toll permanent. The charges carry consequences far beyond shipping invoices.

Saudi Arabia, the world s largest oil exporter, has already lost access to approximately 60 percent of its pre-war export capacity through the Gulf since Iran closed Hormuz on March 2. If codified into law, the toll would enshrine Iranian control over a waterway that carries roughly 20 percent of global oil supply, rewriting the rules of maritime commerce in the Middle East and threatening the energy security of every Gulf producer. Table of Contents What Is Iran Charging Ships to Transit the Strait of Hormuz?

IRGC Turns Back Containership as Permit System Emerges Iran s Parliament Moves to Formalize the Toll Into Law Which Countries Are Paying Iran for Hormuz Access? Does International Law Allow Iran to Charge Shipping Fees? Saudi Arabia and Gulf Producers Face Existential Threat Hormuz Shipping Has Collapsed by 95 Percent Since the War Began What the Toll Means for Oil Prices and Global Trade Frequently Asked Questions What Is Iran Charging Ships to Transit the Strait of Hormuz?

Iran is demanding payments of as much as $2 million per voyage from commercial vessels seeking passage through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The fees are being collected on an ad hoc basis by the IRGC Navy, which has controlled access to the strait since declaring it closed to enemy shipping on March 2. The payment mechanism remains unclear, including what currency is accepted, and the charges do not appear to follow a systematic schedule.

Some vessels have complied with the demand. Lloyd s List has tracked more than 20 ships using a newly established safe corridor running through Iranian territorial waters in recent days, with the majority Greek-owned but others Indian, Pakistani, and Syrian-flagged. At least one tanker is understood to have paid the $2 million fee, according to the Dupree Report, though it is not known whether all transiting vessels face the same charge.

Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi confirmed the toll on state broadcaster IRIB, stating that collecting $2 million as transit fees from some vessels crossing the strait reflects Iran s strength. He added that now, because war has costs, naturally we must do this and take transit fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The comments represent the most explicit official acknowledgment of what shipping industry sources had been reporting for days.

Tehran subsequently formalized its control over the waterway by notifying the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization that only vessels Iran deems non-hostile may transit the strait, establishing conditions that shipping analysts described as unprecedented in modern maritime law. US Coast Guard and Royal Saudi Navy vessels patrol the Arabian Gulf. Coalition naval forces have been unable to prevent Iran s IRGC from imposing transit controls on the Strait of Hormuz.

Photo: US Navy / Public Domain IRGC Turns Back Containership as Permit System Emerges The toll regime became visible on March 24 when the IRGC Navy turned back a containership attempting to pass through the strait without authorization. The St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged container ship Selen, sailing from the United Arab Emirates toward Pakistan, was forced to reverse course at the entrance to the waterway after what the IRGC described as failure to comply with legal protocols and lack of a permit, gCaptain reported.

The incident underscored a shift in Iranian enforcement from a blanket closure to what Tehran now calls a selective blockade. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has stated that for other countries, ships can pass through the strait, while the waterway remains closed to nations Iran considers hostile — a category that includes the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, and increasingly the Gulf Arab states that have aligned with Washington since the war began on February 28 . The selective approach builds on an existing financial blockade that predates Iran s naval enforcement.

As a separate analysis of the insurance market s role in sealing the strait demonstrates, the withdrawal of war risk coverage by major P&I clubs within days of the war s outbreak achieved the commercial closure that Iran s navy could not. Ships hoping to use the pre-approved corridor are expected to communicate extensive details about vessel ownership and cargo destination to the IRGC in advance of transit, according to multiple shipping industry sources. The requirement amounts to a registration system that gives the IRGC veto power over every commercial movement through the strait, a level of control that no single nation has exercised over Hormuz in the waterway s modern history.

Iran s Parliament Moves to Formalize the Toll Into Law While the $2 million fee is currently being demanded on a case-by-case basis, Tehran is moving to make it permanent. Iran s parliament, the Majlis, is actively reviewing a legislative bill that would require all nations using the Strait of Hormuz for the transport of oil, liquefied natural gas, food, and other commodities to pay tolls and taxes to the Iranian government, Maritime Gateway reported. Lawmaker Somayeh Rafiei confirmed that parliament was advancing the proposal, which frames the levy as compensation for Iran providing security along the shipping route.

The legislation would formalize what is currently an irregular IRGC revenue operation into a sovereign toll with a legal framework, fee schedule, and enforcement mechanism. Iran s Acting President Mohammad Mokhber has publicly endorsed the concept. In a statement reported by Iran International, Mokhber said one of the most important opportunities created by the war was the possibility of reshaping Iran s role in the strait, stating that after the imposed war, by defining a new regime for the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will move from being under sanctions to a powerful position in the region and the world.

The ambition is explicit: Iran wants to convert a temporary wartime measure into a permanent source of revenue and geopolitical leverage. For Arab oil producers in the Gulf, that prospect is existential. Even an informal toll raises issues of sovereignty, precedent, and the potential weaponization of a vital trade route for their energy exports, according to analysts tracking the OPEC fractures caused by the conflict .

View Full Map Which Countries Are Paying Iran for Hormuz Access? Several countries are in direct negotiations with Tehran to secure passage rights for their vessels. China, India, Pakistan, Iraq, and Malaysia are all in talks with Iran, according to Al Jazeera, with each seeking bilateral agreements that would allow their flagged ships to transit Hormuz without interference.

India has emerged as the most publicly resistant to the toll. New Delhi dispatched four liquefied petroleum gas carriers through the strait in late March, and the Indian government has stated that international laws guarantee freedom of navigation through the waterway. India s shipping ministry rejected reports of any levy, insisting that no one can charge a fee for use of the channel, according to NewKerala.

Japan was granted safe passage through the strait on March 21, when Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi announced that Japanese ships would be allowed to transit. The concession came after weeks of diplomatic pressure from Tokyo , which imports approximately 90 percent of its crude oil through Hormuz and had been among the hardest-hit economies since the blockade began. China, which imported roughly 1.

5 million barrels per day of Iranian crude before the war, appears to have secured the most favorable terms. Chinese-flagged vessels have been transiting Hormuz with minimal disruption since the selective blockade began, according to CNBC vessel tracking data, though the financial terms of Beijing s arrangement with Tehran have not been publicly disclosed. The emerging two-tier system divides the world s shipping nations into those willing to negotiate with Iran and those locked out entirely.

For Saudi Arabia — whose oil exports must either pass through Hormuz or rely on the limited capacity of its Red Sea port at Yanbu — the toll represents a strategic catastrophe that no amount of money can solve, because Tehran has classified the Kingdom as an enemy. A US Navy coastal patrol ship underway in the Arabian Gulf. Despite the presence of American and allied warships, Iran s IRGC Navy has maintained effective control over the Strait of Hormuz since closing it on March 2.

Photo: US Navy / Public Domain Does International Law Allow Iran to Charge Shipping Fees? The toll faces significant legal obstacles under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. UNCLOS, which 168 states have ratified, enshrines the principle of transit passage through international straits.

Article 44 states that countries bordering such straits shall not hamper transit passage, and the right cannot be suspended for any reason, according to a Lawfare analysis published in March 2026. Iran, however, signed UNCLOS in 1982 but never ratified it — a distinction that sits at the center of Tehran s legal argument. By not ratifying the treaty, Iran contends it is not bound by its provisions, including the transit passage regime that prevents bordering states from charging tolls or restricting access to international straits.

Legal scholars are divided on the argument s validity. The European Journal of International Law published an analysis noting that many provisions of UNCLOS are considered customary international law, binding on all nations regardless of ratification. Transit passage through international straits falls into this category, according to the Just Security analysis, meaning Iran may be violating international norms even without being a formal party to the treaty.

The practical reality is that legal arguments carry little weight when backed by the IRGC s fast-attack boats, anti-ship missiles, and sea mines. Iran has demonstrated the military capability to enforce its toll regime, and the international community has so far been unable to reopen the strait by force. The US Fifth Fleet, Royal Navy, and coalition partners have maintained a naval presence in the region, but commercial shipping through Hormuz has collapsed regardless.

Saudi Arabia and Gulf Producers Face Existential Threat For Saudi Arabia, the toll is not a question of cost but of access. Tehran has classified the Kingdom as an enemy combatant, meaning Saudi-flagged or Saudi-bound vessels are excluded from the transit regime entirely. This has forced Aramco to redirect export operations to Yanbu on the Red Sea coast — a port that handles a fraction of the capacity that flowed through the Gulf before March 2.

Aramco has cut oil supply to Asian customers for a second consecutive month , according to Bloomberg, as the Hormuz blockade eliminated the Eastern Province export terminals at Ras Tanura and Jubail from operational use. The Kingdom s east-west pipeline, the Petroline, can move approximately 5 million barrels per day to Yanbu, but this falls short of the 7. 5 million barrels per day that Saudi Arabia was exporting before the conflict.

The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar face similar constraints. All four nations export the majority of their hydrocarbons through Gulf terminals that depend on Hormuz access. Iran s selective blockade has created a situation in which Asian importers can receive Iranian and potentially Russian crude through the strait, while Gulf Arab producers are shut out of their own export routes.

Impact of Hormuz Toll on Gulf Producers Country Pre-War Exports via Hormuz (bpd) Current Status Alternative Route Saudi Arabia 5. 5 million Blocked — classified as enemy Yanbu (Red Sea) — limited capacity UAE 2. 8 million Blocked — classified as enemy Fujairah (damaged) — limited Kuwait 1.

7 million Blocked — classified as enemy None Qatar 1. 3 million (LNG equivalent) Blocked — classified as enemy None Iraq 3. 3 million In negotiations with Iran Turkey pipeline (limited) The disparity is stark.

Iraq, which maintains diplomatic ties with Tehran, may secure transit access, while Saudi Arabia — the world s largest oil exporter — remains locked out. The energy crises cascading through Asia and the developing world are a direct consequence of this asymmetry. A cargo vessel at port.

Iran s $2 million toll on Hormuz shipping has forced commercial carriers to weigh the cost of compliance against the risk of rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks and millions of dollars to every voyage. Hormuz Shipping Has Collapsed by 95 Percent Since the War Began The scale of the disruption is unprecedented. From March 1 to March 23, commodities carriers made just 144 crossings through the Strait of Hormuz — a 95 percent decrease from peacetime levels, according to CNBC vessel tracking data.

Before the war, the strait handled approximately 60 to 80 transits per day, carrying 21 million barrels of oil and significant volumes of LNG, petrochemicals, and containerized goods. The collapse began on March 2, when a senior IRGC official confirmed that the strait was closed and threatened any ship that attempted to pass. Insurance underwriters immediately suspended war-risk coverage for Hormuz transits, and major shipping companies including Maersk, MSC, and CMA CGM rerouted vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, adding 10 to 14 days and an estimated $500,000 to $1 million per voyage.

The number of transits has increased slightly in recent days as Iran transitions from a blanket closure to the selective blockade model. CNBC reported that the number of vessels transiting has nearly doubled from