Strait of Hormuz Toll System
IRGC-operated system charging $2M per vessel for Hormuz transit. Being codified into Iranian law.
Last refreshed: 28 March 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Iran is charging $2 million per ship and striking those that refuse. Now its parliament wants to make it permanent law.
Latest on Strait of Hormuz Toll System
- What is the Strait of Hormuz toll?
- A $2 million per-vessel fee imposed by Iran's IRGC on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, enforced through drone and missile strikes on non-compliant vessels. Iran's Parliament is drafting legislation to make it permanent law.Source: Lloyd's List / Al Jazeera
- How much does it cost to go through the Strait of Hormuz?
- Iran charges $2 million per vessel. On top of that, war-risk insurance premiums run $3.6-6 million per voyage and charter rates have quadrupled to $800,000 per day, making total transit costs commercially prohibitive for most operators.Source: event
- Is the Strait of Hormuz closed?
- Not formally closed but effectively blockaded. Traffic is down 90% from pre-war levels. The IRGC enforces a $2 million toll and has struck vessels that ignored warnings. Only China-linked tankers transit in significant numbers.Source: event
- Is the Hormuz toll legal under international law?
- No. Under UNCLOS, innocent passage through international straits is guaranteed and unilateral transit fees are not recognised. Iran claims wartime sovereignty over the waters. The Majlis is drafting domestic legislation to codify it.Source: event
- Strait of Hormuz toll vs Suez Canal fees?
- The Suez Canal charges $400,000-$1 million per transit as an internationally recognised sovereign toll. Iran's $2 million Hormuz fee has no legal basis under UNCLOS and is enforced by military strikes, not customs authority.
Background
The toll transforms Hormuz from a disputed military blockade into a claimed sovereign revenue mechanism. Under UNCLOS, innocent passage through international straits is guaranteed and unilateral transit fees have no legal basis. Iran's position is that the strait falls within its territorial waters during wartime. Tanker traffic has fallen 90% from pre-war levels; charter rates quadrupled to $800,000 per day and war-risk premiums run $3.6-6 million per voyage.
The IRGC began enforcing a $2 million per-vessel toll on Strait of Hormuz transit in late March 2026, channelling ships through a 5-mile corridor under threat of drone and missile strikes. The tanker Prima was struck after ignoring warnings, demonstrating that the toll is backed by force. On 27 March, Iran's Majlis announced it is drafting legislation to codify the toll as domestic law.
Codification into domestic law is the strategic escalation: it converts a wartime measure into a permanent statutory instrument that any future Iranian government would need a formal legislative act to repeal. The IEA declared the Hormuz disruption the largest oil supply shock in global market history.
