Does Iran Charge Oil Tankers for Passage Through the Strait of Hormuz? Kpler's New Claim

In Brief: Is Iran Charging Tankers for Passage Through the Strait of Hormuz? Kpler's New Claim. Middle East crude exports have returned to levels near those before the war, yet Brent crude remains around $100 per barrel, as costly rerouting, tanker shortages, ship-to-ship cargo transfers and military escorts keep delivery costs high. Analysts […]

Middle East crude oil exports have returned to near pre-war levels, but Brent oil prices are still hovering around $100 per barrel; Because expensive route changes, lack of oil tankers, cargo transfer from ship to ship and military escort have kept the cost of oil delivery high.

Analysts believe that Iran secretly collects fees for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and may even take a share equal to 10-20% of some shipments. However, these claims have not yet been confirmed.

Receiving any transit fees from Iran will face serious legal and geopolitical challenges. Meanwhile, the widespread use of ships for the staged transfer of oil in the Persian Gulf has increased the cost of sea transportation and further limited global access to oil tankers.

Middle East crude oil and condensate exports averaged around 16.5 million barrels per day in September, according to estimates by energy market data firm Kpler. In a few days of the last week of the month, this figure exceeded the pre-war average of more than 18 million barrels per day.

However, contrary to expectations, the improvement in exports has not had much impact on the decline in oil prices.

Oil producers now move more of their cargo through pipelines and alternative ports. Meanwhile, tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz rely more than ever on US military escort and complex ship-to-ship (STS) cargo transfer chains; A process that requires a large number of ships.

Brent crude oil is still trading in the range of $100 per barrel; That is, almost 30 dollars higher than its pre-war level.

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It is possible that Iran secretly collects fees from ships that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and oil exporters pass these costs on to consumers.

Michel Brohard, Head of Kepler's Policy and Geopolitical Risk Department, believes that some Persian Gulf countries may have secretly reached an agreement with Iran to maintain the flow of their oil exports. According to him, these countries are worried that they will not be able to rely on Washington's support in the long term to contain Tehran.

In an interview with energy analyst Rory Johnston last week, Brohardt said: "I think there are tolls that allow these ships to pass safely." I also think that these countries know that such a situation is not sustainable in terms of escorting ships by America, nor in terms of paying 10 or 20 percent of their cargoes to Iran.

He added: For this reason, we are now witnessing what I call a kind of competition to extract as much oil as possible in the fastest possible time; Before the war starts again.

However, Brohard's claims have yet to be verified, and he is not the only analyst to raise the possibility of covert payments to Iran.

Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG Group, said in an interview with Al Jazeera: "It seems that everything is being done secretly in the Middle East; From the escorting of ships by the United States to the quiet receipt of tolls by Iran.

Legal consequences and possible sanctions

Such agreements can have serious consequences if confidential payments are confirmed.

The administration of Donald Trump has warned Tehran about the imposition of tolls for the passage of ships. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have also opposed Iran's request for passage fees.

Washington has also targeted the financial network related to the toll payment mechanism of the Strait of Hormuz from Iran.

Last month, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange "Bitbank". This institution announced that the "Strait of Hormuz Safe Maritime Services Organization" has been using this exchange since June to transfer its received payments to the Iranian government.

The US Department of Treasury also announced that Bitbank is under the control of Babak Zanjani, an Iranian economic activist. According to this ministry, the network associated with Zanjani used this exchange to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars of bitcoins to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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In 2016, Zanjani was sentenced to death for embezzlement of state oil resources in Iran; But his sentence was commuted in 2024 and he later reappeared as a supporter of government-related economic projects.

Can Iran legally collect tolls?

Iran's plan to collect tolls for crossing the Strait of Hormuz is facing an important legal challenge.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ships and aircraft have the right of transit through straits used for international shipping. Coastal countries are also generally not allowed to collect tolls from ships simply because they pass through these straits.

Iran signed this convention in 1982, but never ratified it. Tehran has also been emphasizing for a long time the position that passing through Iran's territorial waters, in addition to international rules, is subject to the country's internal maritime laws, including the Law on Maritime Zones approved in 1993.

Despite these legal disputes, Tehran has put on the agenda the review of a legal plan to formalize the receipt of tolls from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran argues that charging a fee in exchange for guaranteeing safe passage should be part of any long-term agreement to fully reopen the strait.

The cost of transportation is still high

According to Beauchamp, the current mechanism of oil transfer in the Persian Gulf imposes heavy costs on the market, despite helping to continue exports.

He told Al Jazeera: The phased oil transfer system in the Persian Gulf is very effective for removing oil from the region, but it requires a large number of ships. This issue has increased the rates of sea transportation and at the same time, it has limited the supply of oil tankers outside the region.