According to a report by the British newspaper The Guardian on July 11, Europe is discussing a plan that would allow Iran to charge fees for navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. However, this fee would not be mandatory and would require approval from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations maritime agency.
British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said that implementing mandatory tolls would have “catastrophic” consequences. However, some of his colleagues believe that natural waterways such as the Strait of Malacca and the English Channel have systems in place for paying for navigation services, making this model potentially feasible for reference.
It is reported that Oman has collaborated with British lawyers to develop a management plan for the Strait of Hormuz, based on the principles of governance used in the Strait of Malacca. The Oman government has already proposed sending legal experts from Oman to Tehran to explain the details of this plan to Iran.
Oman controls most of the navigable waters of the Strait, and it opposes mandatory fees. On the 9th, at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization Council held in London, Oman's representative Shamahi said: "International law guarantees ships the right to transit through international navigable straits, and we do not support the imposition of transit fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz."
But he also added that Oman believes exploring voluntary payment mechanisms is practical. The funds could be used to improve navigation support services, further enhance maritime safety, protect the marine environment, reduce pollution risks, and strengthen the ability to respond to emergencies such as ship collisions and fires at sea.
The report mentioned that the scale of Oman’s alternative solution is probably not sufficient to meet Iran’s demands. A diplomat revealed: “There are divisions within the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Some factions believe that since the US carried out illegal air strikes against Iran in February, Iran need not abide by international maritime law. Others tend to favor cooperation with foreign parties, resulting in divided opinions within Tehran.”
Several countries in the Gulf region have also pressured Iran to clarify its charging scheme and determine whether the related fees are essentially equivalent to mandatory tolls.
Iran’s Embassy in London stated that Iran is open to a set of proposals independently drafted by the Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge.
The Energy Policy Research Group proposed in its report that establishing a transparent system for supporting services and integrating it into a regional comprehensive management framework could promote cooperation among various parties. The report emphasized that this approach does not simply involve charging heavy tolls based on vessel traffic.
Recently, the US carried out air strikes on more than 150 targets in southern Iran this week, aiming to destroy Iran’s ability to use drones, missiles, and small speedboats to harass shipping operations. In response, Iran struck military bases of the US in Kuwait and Bahrain.
A diplomat analyzed that the new round of conflicts stem from two main differences: first, the dispute over who should have control over the waterway during the reopening of the Strait; second, whether long-term management plans for the waterway, such as the Malacca model, can be accepted by Iran.
