Iranian parliament committee approves fees for ships in Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee approved a bill on March 31 that would impose formal transit fees on commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The legislation still needs full parliamentary approval, but Iranian authorities have already been collecting payments on an ad hoc basis since early March, reportedly demanding as much as $2 million per vessel.

Iranian officials are framing the charges as “service fees” rather than tolls. The distinction matters diplomatically, but for shipowners writing seven-figure checks, the label is mostly cosmetic.

The chokepoint that moves the world’s oil

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, and roughly 20% of the world’s seaborne crude oil and natural gas passes through it.

That traffic has cratered since conflict broke out on February 28, 2026. Shipping volumes through the strait dropped by approximately 95% after hostilities began. The near-total collapse in vessel movements gave Iran both the leverage and the urgency to formalize revenue extraction from the ships that do still transit.

Reports indicate that payments collected since early March have been made in Chinese yuan, a detail that speaks volumes about which trading relationships Iran is leaning on as Western sanctions and geopolitical isolation tighten.

From ad hoc shakedowns to bureaucratic infrastructure

The committee vote is part of a broader effort to institutionalize Iran’s control over the strait. In May 2026, Iran established the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a new government body tasked with managing vessel approvals and collecting fees.

The approach hasn’t been entirely rigid. In June 2026, Iran rolled out a temporary 60-day fee waiver initiative, presumably to coax some traffic back through the strait. That waiver expired around mid-August, and the fees are back on the table.

Meanwhile, Iranian parliament reviewed even more aggressive proposals in August. Lawmakers considered provisions that would outright ban vessels associated with the US, Israel, and other countries Iran considers adversaries. The same proposals floated fee structures set at 5-7% of cargo value, which for a fully loaded supertanker carrying hundreds of millions of dollars in crude would represent a staggering cost increase.

For context, transit fees through the Suez Canal, the world’s other major maritime chokepoint, typically run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per passage. A 5-7% levy on cargo value would put Hormuz fees in an entirely different category.

What this means for oil markets and shipping

The most immediate consequence is upward pressure on oil prices. When a fifth of global seaborne energy supply faces new costs or access restrictions, those costs get passed along to consumers everywhere. The 95% drop in traffic has already created supply disruptions.

The problem is that rerouting around the Strait of Hormuz isn’t simple. Alternative routes add thousands of miles and days of sailing time, which means higher fuel costs, longer delivery windows, and more expensive insurance premiums. For oil producers in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, Hormuz is effectively the only viable export route for the bulk of their output.

The potential ban on US- and Israel-linked vessels adds a sanctions-like dimension. Many of the world’s largest tanker fleets have some connection to Western financial institutions, insurance companies, or flag states. If Iran defines “associated with” broadly enough, it could effectively close the strait to a significant portion of global shipping capacity.

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