Strait of Hormuz traffic rises after Iran-US deal, but toll fears linger

Newyork,UPDATED: Jun 23, 2026 18:24 IST

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has picked up since Iran and the United States signed an interim deal to end a war that had squeezed global oil supplies and pushed up inflation. But uncertainty over who will control the key waterway and whether ships may be charged to pass through it could complicate talks on a longer-term peace deal.

Iran and the US clashed again over the strait over the weekend after Tehran, citing Israel's latest attacks on Lebanon, said it had reclosed the route. The US disputed that claim, and maritime tracking data showed dozens of ships crossed on Saturday and Sunday, though the numbers were still well below pre-war levels.

Data and analytics company Kpler said 71 ships travelled through the strait between Friday and Sunday, with 35 crossings on Saturday alone. Before the war, about 100 to 130 vessels a day used the route. Under the provisional Iran-US framework, Iran said it would carry out demining work within 30 days and remove "technical and military obstacles" to shipping. Parliament speaker and Iran's lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said on Monday that Iran would manage the strait in line with international maritime law. The main central route remains mined and closed, with ships instead using a smaller northern route through Iranian waters or a southern route through Omani waters. Kpler said "caution is still clear" as many vessels either follow Iran's prescribed route or keep their transponders off to conceal their positions and identities.

The latest disagreement has also revived concerns over tolls. Early in the war, Iran threatened ships trying to use the strait without its approval and began vetting vessels under what shipping analysts called a "tollbooth" system. Iran later demanded the right to collect tolls as a condition for loosening its hold on the waterway. Although the Trump administration sanctioned the Persian Gulf Strait Authority last month, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describing it as Tehran's attempt to extort global maritime trade, President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US could impose its own tolls for "services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East" if talks fail to produce a final agreement. Last week's memorandum of understanding let Iran manage the strait for now while it holds talks with Oman and six other Gulf states "to define the future administration and maritime services" of the waterway. Iran has agreed not to charge tolls for 60 days, but shipping analysts have said the initial agreement gave Tehran significant control. "Almost all the power goes into Iran to determine the arrangements going forward in the future. This is what we really need clarity on," said Philip Belcher of Intertanko.

Legal experts and maritime groups have said a toll regime would break long-standing rules on freedom of peaceful navigation. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea gives ships the right of unimpeded transit passage through more than 100 straits, including Hormuz, though it does not apply to man-made waterways such as the Panama and Suez canals. Oman has ratified the convention, while the US and Iran have not, but maritime bodies say all nations remain bound by its principles. James Kraska, a professor of international maritime law at the US Naval War College, said fees in straits such as Hormuz can only be charged at recognised ports of entry or for services specifically requested by a ship. "If Iran wants to apply those to everybody, then it has to adjust the traffic separation scheme rules, and that can only be done through the member states of the Maritime Organization," he said. "You can't impose fees for a ship exercising its right of transit passage," Kraska added. "So the bottom line is, no - fees in this context are just not lawful."

Analysts said even if Iran and the US reach a final deal, it could still take months for shipments of oil, natural gas, fertiliser and other commodities to return to pre-war levels. Marcus Baker of Marsh said the outlook for shipping had improved since both sides pledged to extend their ceasefire, but "there is a degree of nervousness around the situation". He added that the interim deal does not guarantee the strait will remain toll-free after the negotiating window. "We'll see what the next six weeks brings us," he said. For now, ships are moving again through Hormuz, but at a slower pace and under continuing uncertainty over access, tolls and longer-term control of the waterway.

With PTI Inputs

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