Maritime Security and Safety
Hormuz Toll Battle: Iran’s Transit Fee Gambit Threatens To Rewrite The Rules of Global Shipping
Hormuz Toll Battle: Iran’s Transit Fee Gambit Threatens To Rewrite The Rules of Global Shipping
As Tehran imposes informal charges of up to $2 million per voyage on select vessels and drafts legislation to formalise control of the world’s most critical oil corridor, the maritime order underpinning Nigeria’s crude exports and energy imports faces an existential stress test
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News, Lagos
What began as a wartime blockade has mutated into something potentially more enduring and more dangerous: an attempt to permanently redraw the legal and commercial architecture of international shipping at the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran, which has effectively shut down one of the world’s most vital maritime corridors since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on its territory in late February 2026, is now demanding payment from commercial vessels seeking to pass through the narrow 34-kilometre waterway that connects the Arabian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. Payments of as much as $2 million per voyage are being sought on an ad hoc basis, effectively creating an informal toll on the waterway. Some vessels have reportedly complied, paying fees in Chinese currency or cryptocurrency before being escorted through the strait by Iranian naval vessels.
The stakes could hardly be higher. Until the US–Israeli war against Iran, roughly 25 percent of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 20 percent of its liquefied natural gas passed through the strait. Since the conflict erupted, ship tracking data shows traffic remains more than 90 percent below normal levels, with only select vessels — often after advance coordination and payment — permitted to pass.
The Legal Fault Line
At the heart of the dispute is a fundamental principle of international maritime law that has governed global trade for decades. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea guarantees vessels the right of “transit passage” through international straits — a right that cannot be suspended, obstructed, or priced. UNCLOS says states bordering straits cannot demand payment simply for permission to pass through. However, they can impose limited fees for specific services such as piloting, tugging, or port services.
The IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has been unequivocal: “Countries do not have the right to introduce tools or payments or charges on these straits.” The global shipping regulator has called on the international community to reject Iran’s bid outright.
The legal distinction that makes this so consequential is the difference between a natural strait and a man-made canal. A canal is an artificial waterway built and maintained by a country; because canals require continuous investment, dredging, and operational management, states are allowed to charge tolls for their use. Natural straits, however, are treated as shared global corridors. The Suez Canal charges vessels billions in annual fees to fund Egypt’s infrastructure maintenance. The Strait of Hormuz, under established international law, is categorically different — it is nobody’s toll road.
Tehran, however, is pushing to change this. Iran is drafting legislation to impose transit fees, to be paid in Iranian rials, with a senior parliamentarian stating that once approved, the strait would come under “full control” of Iran’s armed forces. US President Donald Trump warned Tehran in blunt terms against the move, while the International Chamber of Shipping and tanker owners’ group Intertanko have urged members not to pay, arguing the practice violates long-standing maritime custom.
Selective Passage and the IRGC Toll Booth
What is emerging in the strait is not a conventional blockade but something more politically calculated. Iran has demanded international recognition of its right to exercise authority over the Strait of Hormuz as one of its five conditions for ending the war. In the interim, it has operated what analysts are describing as a geopolitical screening system. On 26 March, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that ships owned by five nations — China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan — would be allowed to transit the strait. (Wikipedia) Malaysian and Thai vessels later gained access following diplomatic talks.
At least two vessels that have transited the strait so far paid fees in yuan, with one transit brokered by a Chinese maritime services company acting as intermediary. Nearly 2,000 vessels remain stranded on both sides of the strait, while the IMO’s Dominguez has warned that some 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Gulf due to the effective blockade, with the situation growing more detrimental the longer it persists.
A fragile ceasefire announced in early April has done little to restore normal traffic. Only 22 ships with their automatic identification systems switched on exited the strait between the start of the truce and the following Friday, compared with approximately 135 daily transits before the war.
The Precedent That Terrifies Shipping Markets
Beyond the immediate disruption lies a question that maritime lawyers and trade economists regard as potentially generational in its consequences. If countries were allowed to charge tolls in natural straits, it could set a precedent for others to follow. Strategic chokepoints could become tools of economic and political pressure, increasing shipping costs and disrupting supply chains. Oil prices have already risen by around 50 percent due to the conflict, with analysts raising their forecast for Brent crude to $82.85 per barrel — up roughly 30 percent on earlier projections. The International Energy Agency estimated that the conflict reduced global crude oil supplies by around 11 million barrels per day through the end of March.
Major powers remain cautious about further escalation, acutely aware of the risks of military confrontation in a narrow and heavily trafficked corridor. The US military has said it sailed two warships through the strait in an effort to clear the waterway of Iranian mines, an announcement Iran denied.
Meanwhile, China — the largest importer of energy routed through Hormuz — has refrained from confrontation, preferring to use its diplomatic leverage with Tehran to secure passage for its own vessels.
As tensions persist, the Strait of Hormuz continues to test the balance between national interest and international law, with potentially far-reaching consequences for global trade and energy security.
Nigeria Watch
Why Abuja cannot afford to treat this as a distant crisis
For Nigeria, the Hormuz crisis is not a spectator sport. As Africa’s largest oil producer and a nation whose import bill — from refined petroleum to fertilisers — is denominated overwhelmingly in dollar freight costs shaped by global energy prices, the protracted closure of the world’s most critical oil corridor lands directly on the desks of policymakers in Abuja and operators at Apapa.
On the export side, Nigeria’s crude competes in a market where Asian buyers — who absorb the bulk of Gulf oil — are now scrambling to reconfigure supply chains. That scramble has kept Brent elevated, a short-term windfall for Nigeria’s federation account. But the Dangote Refinery’s ambitions to position Nigeria as a petroleum export hub for Africa depend on competitively priced crude feedstock and stable freight routes; sustained market volatility complicates that calculus.
On the import side, the shock is more acute. Nigeria still imports the majority of its cooking gas and industrial chemicals, significant volumes of which move through supply chains directly disrupted by the Hormuz closure. Fertiliser supply chains — of which up to 30 percent of internationally traded volumes normally transit the Strait of Hormuz (Wikipedia) — are already under strain, with downstream consequences for Nigeria’s agricultural input costs.
For NIMASA and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the legal dimensions of the crisis deserve close study. If Iran succeeds in normalising transit fees on a natural international strait — even under the pressure of a peace deal brokered between Washington and Tehran — the precedent will not be lost on other coastal states bordering strategic waterways. Nigeria’s own positioning in the Gulf of Guinea, and its advocacy for regional maritime sovereignty within IMO frameworks, will eventually require a clear Nigerian position on whether geography confers the right to monetise global shipping corridors. The time to begin formulating that position is now.
UK Commandos Board Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker in Historic English Channel Seizure
First British-led operation targets oil revenues bankrolling Moscow’s Ukraine war
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
Royal Marine Commandos have boarded and seized a sanctioned Russian shadow fleet tanker in the English Channel in what is being described as a landmark escalation by the United Kingdom in the global effort to choke off the oil revenues sustaining Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.The vessel, identified as the Smyrtos and sailing under a Cameroon flag, was intercepted in the early hours of Sunday in a joint operation involving Chinook helicopters, surveillance aircraft, a Royal Navy frigate, and a Royal Navy minehunter — a deployment that underscored the seriousness with which London is now approaching sanctions enforcement on the high seas.Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) accompanied the commandos onto the vessel, scrutinising cargo records and shipping documents as part of ongoing investigations. Footage released by the British government showed commandos fast-roping onto the tanker’s deck in the pre-dawn darkness.
It is the first time Britain has taken the lead in directly interdicting a vessel linked to Russia’s shadow fleet — a murky network of ageing, obscurely-owned tankers that Moscow has deployed to move its crude oil beyond the reach of Western sanctions.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the operation sent an unambiguous message to those propping up the Kremlin’s war chest. “This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide,” he posted on X.
The Smyrtos will remain detained off England’s south coast pending further investigation. Paris co-operated closely with London in the operation, the UK government confirmed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the seizure and called on European governments to go even further, urging legislative action that would permit not just the detention of tankers but the outright confiscation of their cargoes. “This will certainly help bring peace closer,” he wrote.
Britain has been steadily tightening its grip on shadow fleet activity. Since launching its crackdown, London has sanctioned close to 600 vessels associated with the network. In March, Prime Minister Starmer authorised the British military to board and detain Russian-linked ships suspected of sanctions evasion — authority that was used operationally for the first time on Sunday.
What it means for global shipping
The operation carries significant implications for maritime commerce worldwide, including for Nigerian shipping operators, freight forwarders, and vessel owners with international exposure. Flag states — including African nations whose flags have been exploited by shadow fleet operators seeking cover — may face increased scrutiny from European maritime authorities.
Nigeria, as a prominent flag-of-convenience registrant and a major oil-exporting nation, has a stake in how the international community tightens regulations around tanker ownership transparency, beneficial ownership disclosure, and sanctioned-cargo tracking. The Cameroon flag flown by the Smyrtos at the time of its seizure is a reminder that African maritime registries can be drawn into geopolitical disputes well beyond the continent’s shores.
Maritime legal experts say the British action may embolden other nations to adopt more aggressive enforcement postures, potentially reshaping the legal landscape around vessel detention in international and territorial waters.
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Maritime Security and Safety
Strait of Hormuz to Reopen as US, Iran Agree Initial Deal to End Three-Month War — Global Shipping Braces for Major Shift
Strait of Hormuz to Reopen as US, Iran Agree Initial Deal to End Three-Month War — Global Shipping Braces for Major Shift
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
In a development poised to reshape global maritime trade, the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran have announced an initial agreement to end more than three months of war, with provisions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most strategically vital shipping corridors.
US President Donald Trump confirmed the breakthrough on Monday, June 15, 2026, saying the deal with Iran was “now complete” in a post on social media.
According to reports, Trump authorised the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the simultaneous removal of the United States Naval blockade on Iran . Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also confirmed the agreement, announcing that “the Peace Deal between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED”. He added that both sides had declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and noted that mediators would facilitate further meetings in the coming week to lay groundwork for technical talks ahead of an official signing ceremony (NewsNation) , expected on Friday, June 19, in Switzerland.
Background: A Conflict That Shook Global Trade
The crisis began on 28 February 2026 and has lasted more than three months, drawing in Iran, the United States, Israel and shipping companies worldwide. The fallout included a global fuel crisis, a US-led aerial campaign on Iranian targets, a US naval blockade of Iran, and a US naval escort operation, alongside the formation of a Persian Gulf Strait Authority. The human cost was severe: at least 17 merchant ships were damaged, with 12 seafarers killed or missing, and a port worker killed in Bahrai.
Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz carried roughly 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 20% of global LNG shipments. Its closure sent shockwaves through energy markets, with vessel owners suspending operations rather than risk transiting the corridor.
What This Means for Shipping and Energy Markets
Analysts note the reopening carries major implications for tanker operators, freight rates and crude exporters. The Persian Gulf region remains the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, almost all of which is exported by tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz — a route effectively closed for over three months, with disruptions rippling through the global economy and pushing commodity prices sharply higher.
Nigeria Watch
For Nigeria, a reopened Strait of Hormuz could ease the pressure on global freight rates and insurance premiums that have weighed on Nigerian crude exports and import costs since the crisis began. NIMASA and Nigerian shipowners reliant on chartered tonnage may see a gradual normalisation of war-risk premiums affecting vessels calling at Nigerian ports.
However, stakeholders are advised to await the formal signing — slated for June 19 in Switzerland — and confirmation of safe-passage protocols before adjusting freight and insurance arrangements, as the agreement remains an initial framework with several issues still under negotiation.
11 Feared Dead as Boat Conveying Burial Mourners Capsizes on River Benue
By Emetena Ikuku | Waterways News
At least 11 people, including a pregnant woman and six children, are feared dead following the capsizing of a boat conveying mourners back from a burial ceremony on the River Benue in Makurdi Local Government Area, Benue State.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening as passengers were returning to Daududawadawa, an island community located behind the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering barracks in the North Bank area of Makurdi.
According to local accounts, the boat — said to be carrying more than 40 passengers — overturned mid-river between 7pm and 8pm amid heavy rainfall and strong winds.
The Commander of Operation Shara (Sweep), a North Bank vigilante outfit, Nura Umar, confirmed that the victims were returning from the burial of a woman from their community held in Wadata. The deceased had reportedly died at a private hospital in North Bank on Saturday morning, after which her remains were taken to Wadata for burial before mourners began their return trip by boat.
Umar said four bodies had been recovered and buried, while divers continued searching for the remaining victims. He added that one survivor had been carrying a baby on her back who did not survive the accident.
The spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command said she had yet to receive an official report on the incident.
The accident comes about six months after the Benue State Government pledged tighter safety enforcement on the state’s waterways following recurring boat mishaps.
Nigeria Watch
This latest tragedy on the River Benue underscores the persistent gap between policy pronouncements and enforcement on Nigeria’s inland waterways. Despite repeated commitments by state governments, including Benue’s pledge six months ago to tighten safety regulations, fatal boat accidents continue largely unabated across the country’s riverine and inland transport corridors.
For the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and state agencies such as the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), the Makurdi disaster is a stark reminder that safety regulation cannot remain concentrated in major commercial waterways alone. Inland communities that depend on boats as their primary — often only — means of transport, particularly during the rainy season, remain acutely vulnerable to overloading, lack of life jackets, and absence of weather advisories.
The recurring pattern of overloaded vessels operating without basic safety equipment, often during adverse weather, points to a systemic enforcement failure rather than isolated incidents. With the rainy season intensifying across Nigeria’s middle belt and riverine states, stakeholders in the maritime safety ecosystem — including NIWA, state waterways authorities, and community-level vigilante and emergency response groups — face renewed pressure to extend life jacket distribution programmes, weather alert systems, and passenger manifest enforcement beyond the commercial ports and into Nigeria’s vast network of inland river crossings, where the human cost of inaction continues to mount.
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