The proposed 20% transit fee could add tens of millions of dollars to a single oil shipment, sending energy markets higher and raising new questions over international maritime law.
Proposed Toll Sends Shockwaves Through Global Shipping
President Donald Trump’s proposal to impose a 20 percent fee on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz could add tens of millions of dollars to the cost of a single oil shipment, intensifying fears that the latest escalation between the United States and Iran will push energy prices higher worldwide.
The plan, announced as Trump renewed a U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping and declared the United States the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, would require vessels to pay Washington for what the president described as American protection of the critical waterway.
But the administration has yet to explain how the fee would be calculated, collected or enforced—or what authority the United States has to charge ships traveling through an international strait bordered by Iran and Oman.
A Potential $17-a-Barrel Surcharge
The scale of the proposed charge is drawing particular concern from the shipping and energy industries.
A fully loaded supertanker carrying approximately two million barrels of crude worth more than $170 million could face a fee of roughly $34 million under a straightforward application of Trump’s 20 percent proposal. That would amount to an additional cost of about $17 for every barrel aboard the vessel.
Such a surcharge would be dramatically higher than the transit fees Iran had previously sought to collect and would almost certainly be passed through the energy supply chain, potentially raising costs for refiners, manufacturers, airlines and consumers.
Oil markets moved higher as traders assessed the proposal alongside renewed U.S. military operations, Iranian attacks on commercial vessels and sharply reduced traffic through the strait. Brent crude traded above $85 a barrel Tuesday, while West Texas Intermediate approached $80.
Washington Reverses Its Own Position
The announcement also represents a striking reversal for the Trump administration.
Only months ago, Trump warned Iran against charging ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials similarly argued that international law protects free passage through international waterways and does not permit countries to demand tolls merely for transit.
The United States is now proposing a fee far larger than the Iranian charges it previously condemned.
That contradiction has strengthened criticism from maritime authorities and legal experts who say Washington risks undermining the same freedom-of-navigation principles it has long invoked against Tehran.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency responsible for international shipping, reiterated its opposition to transit charges through international straits, while maritime experts questioned both the legal basis and practical enforceability of the proposal.
Implementation Remains Unclear
It is also uncertain whether the proposal represents a fully developed policy or an opening negotiating position.
The White House has not identified a start date, payment mechanism or enforcement process. It has not explained whether ships refusing to pay would lose U.S. naval protection, face restrictions on transit or be subject to other penalties.
Enforcement could prove particularly difficult because the United States does not control the territorial waters through which vessels pass. The Strait of Hormuz is bordered by Iran and Oman, while international law generally recognizes a right of transit passage through waterways used for global navigation.
Iran, meanwhile, has seized on the announcement to reinforce its own longstanding claim that countries providing security in the strait may demand compensation, while suggesting any Iranian fee would be considerably lower than the one proposed by Washington.
Traffic Through the Strait Remains Severely Reduced
The toll announcement comes as commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below normal levels.
Recent vessel traffic has reportedly fallen to a fraction of pre-conflict volumes as shipping companies weigh the risks posed by missile and drone attacks, soaring insurance premiums and mounting geopolitical uncertainty. The strait normally carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil, making even limited disruption capable of influencing fuel prices, inflation and global economic growth.
For governments, energy markets and the maritime industry, Trump’s proposal opens an entirely new chapter in the struggle over one of the world’s most strategically important waterways. Even before any fee is collected, the prospect of the United States charging for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is already reshaping calculations across global commerce.
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