Iran sets up Hormuz transit authority to charge ships for passage

Iran's Supreme National Security Council announced on Monday the launch of an official X account for the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the body Tehran says will manage ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz and collect passage fees — formalising a system that has reportedly already been in place since March. Vessels wanting to transit the strait must apply via the PGSA's official email address, submitting ownership details, insurance, crew manifests, cargo declarations and intended routing.

No official tariff has been published. Reports indicate some vessels have already paid up to $2 million (€1.7m) per transit, with payment made in Chinese yuan. The authority functions as an administrative interface with the IRGC Navy, which physically controls transits through the waterway. The IRGC is designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the US and the EU, among others. The announcement followed weeks of confusion and danger for the ships in the strait. After Tehran said in March it would charge for safe passage, fraudulent operators began offering unofficial transit paperwork in exchange for cryptocurrency payments. The PGSA appears designed to replace that grey market with a single official channel. Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of Iran's parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said in a televised interview that Tehran had prepared a mechanism to manage Hormuz traffic through a designated maritime route and that further details would be announced shortly. He wrote on X that only commercial vessels cooperating with Iran would benefit from the mechanism and that charges would apply. New billboards in Tehran's metro system claim Iran could generate up to $100 billion annually from Strait of Hormuz revenues. The figure has circulated in Iranian media alongside proposals to monetise data cables running through the waterway. Under UNCLOS — the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea — the Strait of Hormuz falls under the transit passage principle, which protects the uninterrupted flow of international shipping.

Key points

• No official tariff has been published.
• Reports indicate some vessels have already paid up to $2 million (€1.7m) per transit, with payment made in Chinese yuan.
• The authority functions as an administrative interface with the IRGC Navy, which physically controls transits through the waterway.
• The IRGC is designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the US and the EU, among others.
• The announcement followed weeks of confusion and danger for the ships in the strait.