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.
Maritime Security and Safety
Navy Clamps 13-Hour Waterway Curfew on Calabar-Oron Channel Amid Kidnapping Surge
Navy Clamps 13-Hour Waterway Curfew on Calabar-Oron Channel Amid Kidnapping Surge
NNS Victory, FOB Ibaka mount joint raids; militant hideout demolished, suspect in custody
By Okeoghene Onoriobe| Waterways News Correspondent
The Nigerian Navy has imposed a 13-hour daily movement restriction on all maritime traffic along the Calabar waterways, banning vessel operations between 6:00pm and 5:00am, as part of an intensified counter-kidnapping campaign targeting criminal networks operating along the Calabar-Oron channel.
The development was disclosed in an official statement by Lt.-Cdr. Suleiman Bala, Public Affairs Officer of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Victory, based in Calabar, Cross River State.
According to Bala, the curfew — which permits maritime activity only during daylight hours — is a direct operational response to a recent spike in kidnappings along one of Nigeria’s busiest cross-state waterway corridors. The channel, linking Cross River State to Akwa Ibom, serves as a critical passage for riverine communities, commercial boat operators, and fishing vessels.
New Security Outpost at Peacock Crossing
Beyond the movement restriction, the Navy has established a permanent security outpost at Idung I, commonly known as Peacock Crossing, on the island in Cross River State. Bala said the outpost was strategically sited to enable naval personnel to monitor creek activities in real time and deny militants freedom of movement.
In a series of coordinated operations, NNS Victory and Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ibaka conducted raids on fishing settlements at Dayspring Island. Naval authorities said suspected militant elements fled on sighting troops, prompting a subsequent joint clearance operation involving personnel from the Nigerian Army’s 13 Brigade.
“Troops maintained dominance over the creeks and adjoining waterways,” Bala stated, adding that the sustained military presence led to the discovery of a militant hideout linked to a suspect identified only as “Juju” in the Idung axis.
Upon the approach of naval operatives, the suspect fled, abandoning two engine-fitted boats which were seized. The hideout structure was subsequently demolished.
Informant Arrested, Under Interrogation
In a separate intelligence-driven operation, troops tracked and apprehended one individual identified as an informant embedded within the militant network. The suspect is currently in custody and undergoing interrogation, after which he is to be transferred to a relevant security agency for further investigation and prosecution.
Bala said that prior to the deployment of naval assets, militant groups had operated with near-total impunity in the area, conducting kidnappings and extorting riverine communities. He noted that the presence of troops has substantially degraded their operational capacity, pushing them deeper into the creeks and cutting off their logistics chains.
The Navy’s statement concluded with a firm commitment to sustain what it described as “an aggressive posture” until all undesirable elements within the creeks and communities are neutralised
Nigeria Watch
The curfew on the Calabar-Oron channel underscores a widening maritime security challenge that Nigerian authorities have long struggled to contain in the country’s southern waterways. While most attention on waterway insecurity has focused on the Niger Delta’s oil-producing states, the Calabar-Oron corridor — a vital artery for cross-state trade, passenger movement, and fishing — has increasingly come under pressure from criminal elements exploiting its creek-laced geography.
For the Nigerian maritime sector, the operational implications are significant. A daylight-only movement window of 13 hours effectively compresses the commercial window for boat operators, fishing communities, and inter-state water transport services, adding logistical cost and uncertainty to an already challenging operating environment.
NIMASA, which holds statutory responsibility for maritime safety and security coordination under the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act 2019, may need to assess whether the Calabar-Oron flashpoint requires a more structured inter-agency response — one that pairs kinetic naval operations with longer-term community engagement and economic alternatives for vulnerable riverine populations.
The Nigerian Navy’s resolve is evident; sustaining it will require resources, intelligence, and coordination across multiple security and regulatory bodies.
Maritime Security and Safety
Iran Seizes Two Container Ships; 15 Filipino Crew Members Reported Safe
Iran Seizes Two Container Ships; 15 Filipino Crew Members Reported Safe
By Okeoghene Onoriobe| Waterways News Correspondent | April 25, 2026
The Philippine government has confirmed that all 15 of its seafarers aboard two container vessels seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz are safe and unharmed, bringing some relief to their families and the wider maritime community.
The two vessels — Epaminondas and MSC Francesca — were boarded and seized by IRGC forces on April 22, 2026, as they attempted to transit one of the world’s most strategically significant and increasingly volatile waterways. Ten Filipino crew members were aboard the Epaminondas, with the remaining five on the MSC Francesca.
Confirming their safety, Philippines Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said his office had been assured that all 15 seafarers were safe and unharmed, and that authorities remained in close contact with their families, the manning agency, and the shipowners while continuing to provide support.
The DMW said it is taking all necessary steps to protect the welfare of the affected seafarers, while coordinating closely with all relevant stakeholders.
The incident is the latest in a string of maritime security concerns in the Arabian Gulf region that have placed Filipino seafarers — and the global shipping community — on high alert. The Philippines remains the world’s largest supplier of crew to the international shipping industry, making the safety of its seafarers a matter of significant national concern.
This seizure comes barely weeks after another harrowing incident, in which 21 Filipino crew members were aboard the Panama-flagged product tanker Aqua 1 when it was struck by a missile on April 1, near the Ras Laffan Industrial Hub in Qatar. Fortunately, none of the crew were injured. A second batch of seven survivors returned to Manila on the evening of April 22, bringing the total number of Aqua 1 crew who have arrived home to 17, with four others expected to return shortly.
In a further development that will reassure families across the Philippines, Saudi Arabian offshore vessels company Zamil Offshore informed DMW Secretary Cacdac that 412 Filipino seafarers currently deployed on its vessels in the Gulf are safe, with adequate food supplies and other necessities to last several months.
The escalating pattern of vessel seizures and attacks in the Gulf underscores the mounting risks facing commercial seafarers navigating one of the world’s most critical trade routes. Industry stakeholders are calling for urgent diplomatic engagement to de-escalate tensions and safeguard the lives of maritime workers.
Waterways News will continue to monitor and report developments on this story.
IMO Moves to Free 800 Stranded Ships From Hormuz
With global maritime trade and shipping hanging in the balance, the world’s maritime body is drawing up an escape plan for hundreds of trapped vessels — and their exhausted crews
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News
The International Maritime Organization is quietly finalising a rescue plan to evacuate hundreds of vessels stranded in the Persian Gulf — but the operation will not move an inch until conflict subsides and the Strait of Hormuz is confirmed free of mines and military threats.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez confirmed that preparations are under way to organise a safe corridor for ships caught in the crossfire of more than seven weeks of escalating hostilities, triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The plan, however, remains firmly on ice until credible signs of de-escalation emerge.
Close to 800 vessels are currently stuck in the Gulf as traffic through one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints has slowed to a near standstill. For Nigerian importers, exporters, and the broader West African supply chain dependent on Gulf-origin energy and commodities, the disruption carries real consequences — from tightening oil availability to delayed cargo consignments.
Iranian warnings and attacks have made shipowners unwilling to risk the passage, though some vessels have reportedly secured exit under tightly controlled routes — in some cases involving payments, a development that has drawn sharp attention from the global shipping community.
The situation has been further complicated by a US naval blockade designed to cut off Iranian war revenues, pushing an already fragile operating environment to the edge as a temporary ceasefire ticks toward expiry.
Behind closed doors, the IMO is mapping out the operational logistics of an evacuation, including how vessels would be prioritised — with the duration of crew entrapment likely to be a key factor.
Any approved transit would follow the long-established Traffic Separation Scheme agreed between Iran and Oman, which has served as the recognised navigational framework for the narrow waterway for decades.
Dominguez was emphatic that the proposed corridor is not a commercial exercise. The goal, he stressed, is humanitarian — to get seafarers safely out of harm’s way, not to restore cargo flows or protect trade revenues.
For Nigeria, the stakes extend beyond sympathy. The Strait of Hormuz handles a significant share of the world’s oil exports, and prolonged closure or instability there feeds directly into the global energy price pressures that continue to weigh on the naira, fuel costs, and freight rates at Nigerian ports.
The IMO says it is ready. The question now is whether the warring parties will give it the window it needs.
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