The Strait of Hormuz remains a centerpiece to ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to end their four-month war, but two days of talks between the parties in Qatar concluded Wednesday with no sign of resolution for the future of the waterway.
Both sides did not meet face to face, instead interacting separately with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan. The negotiations are based on a 14-point interim framework signed in June aimed at ending the war and reopening the strait for safe passage.
The status of the oil conduit remains unclear, with the two countries exchanging strikes last weekend following an Iranian attack on an Evergreen cargo ship.
The Iranians insist they have joint sovereignty over the strait along with Oman, a U.S. ally, claiming that both countries will administer and request passage fees after the 60-day term of their framework ends.
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Iran and Oman were set to move forward with plans to collect payment for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite public American objections.
Citing an Iranian official and a regional diplomat, the NYT said Oman recently delivered a formal proposal to the U.S. and other Western allies that outlined a plan in which shipping companies would pay service fees to use the strait.
Omani officials had previously told European officials that the waterway was unlikely to go back to its pre-war status quo, and that fees could potentially be charged related to de-polluting the strait.
Prior to the start of the war in Iran on Feb. 28, commercial vessels were free to traverse the Hormuz strait unimpeded. After the U.S. and Israel launched strikes, Iranian military brass effectively closed off the waterway under the threat of attack on any vessel that passes through.
Vessel activity in the strait picked up after the signing of the 14-point plan on June 17. According to ship tracking intelligence provider MarineTraffic, 34 verified transits were recorded through the strait on Tuesday. The day prior, there were 40 verified crossings.
Bloomberg reported Wednesday morning that six freighters were seen entering the Persian Gulf closely together along a U.S.-policed route close to the Omani coast. Another four were seen departing going eastward. The vessels comprise oil, gas and fuel carriers, as well as container ships.
Despite the increase in activity, the security backdrop throughout the conduit remains fragile, MarineTraffic said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned ship captains and ship owners and that passage through non-approved routes could lead to potential attacks.
A ship ran aground while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details.
“The balanced directional split and continued use of the Omani, Iranian and IMO routes show that the Strait remained operational, but not yet settled into a clearly normalized routing pattern,” said Dimitris Ampatzidis, maritime risk and compliance manager at MarineTraffic. “The additional IMO-confirmed attack and the pause to the evacuation operation add pressure to the implementation of any maritime-security commitments, especially around safe passage, route confidence and freedom of navigation.”
Ocean carriers continue to levy surcharges amid the uncertainty surrounding the Hormuz.
Hapag-Lloyd is applying a Middle East emergency surcharge to existing bookings already in transit and affected by the ongoing disruption. For a 20-foot dry container, surcharges range from $300 for a box carried from the Port of Jebel Ali to any other U.A.E. port to $6,100 per container moved from Indian ports like Mundra and Nhava Sheva to Kuwait.
The surcharges are in effect for cargo sailing on the water on regional, already within the affected region and requiring alternative delivery arrangements, or already discharged at transshipment hubs in India and Pakistan, as well as regional ports Khor Fakkan and Salalah.
The advisory does not apply to new bookings unless separately advised.
“Due to the continued security situation affecting transits through the Strait of Hormuz, alternative routing and operational arrangements have been implemented to maintain service continuity for affected cargo,” said Hapag-Lloyd in a Wednesday advisory. “These arrangements involve additional operational costs, including the positioning of additional vessels, increased terminal handling expenses and higher insurance costs for port calls in the region.”
Effective July 1, Maersk revising the peak season surcharge for its containers traveling from Asia to the Middle East. Twenty-foot containers now cost $500, up from the $300 charge initially implemented on March 15. The surcharge to move 40-foot boxes from $700 to $1,000.
