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Shipping operators will resist Iran’s “illegal” move to allow vessels from “non-hostile” nations to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, an expert has told The National.
Iran signalled its intention in a letter to the United Nations and its parliament is now working on a draft bill that would impose a fee on vessels seeking safe passage through the vital waterway linking the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
Transiting the Strait of Hormuz will be done in “co-ordination” with Iran, its Foreign Ministry said in the letter to the UN. It says the move is accordance with parts of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The Iranian parliament’s legislation would formalise an emerging arrangement whereby as much as $2 million is reportedly being sought from vessels. The process has become known as the Tehran Tollbooth.
Dimitris Ampatzidis, a risk and shipping behaviour expert at Kpler, said operators will be wary of agreeing to Iranian demands to secure safe passage.
“The industry remains highly reluctant to engage in any framework that could be interpreted as compliance with unilateral demands,” he told The National.
“Operators will instead rely on naval guidance, flag-state advisories and insurer requirements. Any direct co-ordination with Iranian authorities introduces sanctions, legal and reputational risks, particularly for western-linked shipping.”
Mr Ampatzidis said Iranian efforts to filter shipping based on their ties to “non-hostile” nations would be based on coercion rather than international law.
He said: “Under international maritime law, Iran cannot formally or legally ‘select’ which vessels are permitted to transit the Strait.
“What we are witnessing is not a formal system of control, but rather coercive signalling, where risk is selectively elevated for certain flags, ownership structures, or perceived affiliations.
“In practice, however, it [Iran] is already creating a de facto filtering mechanism through threats, warnings and targeted enforcement actions. Recent incidents involving vessels that allegedly ignored Iranian instructions, alongside messaging that only non-hostile ships may pass, illustrate this approach.”
The extracting of payment for transiting the Strait of Hormuz and the requirement for co-ordination “while difficult to formalise legally, could effectively shape behaviour if backed by credible threat”.
Mr Ampatzidis said war risk premiums to insure vessels operating in the strait have “risen sharply” and this will be a “determining factor in whether a vessel can transit”.
“The broader point is that Iran does not require formal control of the Strait to influence maritime flows. The combination of uncertainty, selective enforcement and geopolitical signalling is already sufficient to reduce traffic and disrupt energy markets.”
The letter from Iran’s Foreign Ministry to the 15-member council and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said ships must not support or take part in action against Iran and must comply with its safety and security regulations.
It added that vessels, equipment and assets belonging to the US and Israel, and others involved in what Iran described as aggression, would not qualify for “innocent or non-hostile passage”.
Salvatore Mercogliano, an expert on military and commercial shipping at Campbell University, North Carolina, said Iran has no legal basis for deciding what ships can sail through the Strait of Hormuz.
He said Iran's reference to “innocent passage” to justify its actions relates to Article 19 of Unclos. This provision means no state can stop the innocent passage of a vessel when it goes through the territorial waters of that nation.
Mr Mercogliano has built a following for explaining shipping laws on his YouTube channel, What’s Going on With Shipping.
“You can pass through the Strait of Hormuz without going within the territorial waters of Iran whatsoever,” he pointed out.
Mr Mercogliano said the Iranian letter states that vessels belonging to non-hostile states may “benefit from safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in co-ordination with competent Iranian authorities”.
“There is no justification for that. You do not have to co-ordinate with Iran at all to technically make your passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
